Life in Konoha's ANBU
by Shezza
Summary: ANBU!Naruto. Drafted into ANBU at a young age, Naruto is guided to the path of a Captain. Leader of Team Sigma, the Hokage's Personal Guard, Naruto will lead his team and defend his Village to the best of his ability. Threats besiege the Land of Fire from all sides, and only Naruto stands before them...
1. ANBU Directive 4

_Twelve Years after the fall of the Fourth Hokage, the Village Hidden in Leaves has regained its military and economic power. The attack of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, although brief, was enough to threaten the stability of the Shinobi World. The Third Hokage, pulled out of retirement, worked towards strengthening Konoha's position amongst the Great Five. The new host of the Nine-Tails Demon Fox received the personal attention of the some of the most elite Shinobi in Konoha and rose into the ranks of ANBU at a young age._

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><p>The ANBU knelt, a black cloak spooled around the knees, and awaited orders. The elite ANBU's posture was perfectly still, obedient and subservient, as the Third Hokage stood there. The silence in the room was stiffening- the ANBU guard hiding in the shadows fidgeting- but the loyal ANBU did not move. The Hokage's face was like stone, weathered and wearied, yet there was something lurking in his eyes, something that had allowed him to reign over the most powerful Hidden Village for decades.<p>

Many called it the Will of Fire.

"Rise, Kitstune," The Third Hokage said. He clasped his wrinkled hands behind his back and watched from beneath his conical hat as one of his most loyal and powerful warriors rose in a single deft movement. "I have called you here to undertake a S-rank mission. It is, of course, optional should you choose to decline but-"

"I accept," came the immediate response from the ANBU Kitsune. The white mask gleamed under the light of the office, the intimidating red stripes curled up into an angry snarl. Nonetheless, there was no emotion in the highly-skilled ANBU's voice. There never was.

"Very well," The Third Hokage murmured. He reached into his robes and patted his pockets for a few moments. Then, without a single gesture, the ANBU in the corner flickered and vanished. A second later, the guard reappeared holding the infamous Hokage's pipe.

"Ah, thank you," Sarutobi muttered. He lit his pipe and took a few puffs. "Kitstune, rendezvous with Delta Platoon at the coordinates provided in this scroll. You will provide assistance to complete their task It is vital for village security that this mission is completed. You have two and a half hours. Time is of the essence."

"I understand," Kitsune said solemnly as the Hokage passed over the sealed and bound scroll. "I will not fail you, Hokage-sama."

Then, without another word, Kitsune disappeared. There was no flicker of chakra or breeze of wind to accompany the disappearance. One moment Kitsune was there. The next moment, Kitstune was gone.

The Third Hokage continued to puff on his pipe, clouds of smoke billowing out and hovering around him in a haze of thick scented fog. The ANBU in the corner of the room made a hand sign and the walls of the Hokage's office flashed for a second, a circle of glowing symbols flashing in and out of existence. All at once, the stiffening silence In the room was lifted.

"Ferret!" The Hokage commanded. The ANBU in the corner straightened as Sarutobi walked back to his desk and, with a small grunt, sat back down in his chair. A small stack of papers lay waiting for him, highly classified documents that could not be delegated to the appropriate department.

"Your orders, Hokage-sama?" the ANBU in the corner muttered.

"I feel rather burdened today," Sarutobi said. "Go and prepare my calligraphy set. I will be there later. Wait for me there."

"Sir," Ferret acknowledged and disappeared with a small puff of smoke.

The Hokage sat back in his chair and continued to smoke his pipe. There was a lot riding on this mission. He could only hope that Kitsune would pull through.

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><p><em>After some years, the threat of war diminished and the cycle began to repeat itself. Old heroes would fall and new ones would rise up and replace then. One such hero of Konoha is Kitsune, an elite and well-trained ANBU on par with some of the most powerful Jounin in the world.<em>

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><p>Later on in the day in one of the Hokage's personal rooms within the tower, Ferret finished unpacking the calligraphy set and stood back up with a small sigh. Almost as if he had predicted it, Sarutobi appeared at the doorway.<p>

"My cloak," the old man said with a straight face and twinkling eyes.

Ferret nodded and took the cloak of the Hokage. He felt the fabric through his fingers as he hung it up on a peg. The Third Hokage nodded and took another drag of his pipe, only to frown as the last glowing embers of the tobacco went out.

"That's unfortunate," Sarutobi murmured. He stroked his beard and glanced at Ferret from the corner of his eye. "Did you, perchance, forget to refill my pipe?"

The ANBU paused. "Perhaps, Hokage-sama," he said after a short while. "My apologies."

"There's no need to apologise," Sarutobi chuckled. He moved over and knelt down before a large scroll. "I have become accustomed to my elite Shinobi failing their missions ever since I took you on. It was _quite _a difficult task for somebody of your…caliber."

The ANBU tensed. For a moment, the white mask seemed to scream at the Hokage, before the person behind it managed to compose himself. He bowed. "My apologies again, my lord."

"My Lord?" Sarutobi muttered and chuckled. "My, my, you have become rather good at apologizing, haven't you? Still, it can't be helped when you manage to continually fail your routine missions."

Ferret twitched.

"Perhaps I should give you another try," Sarutobi muttered as he picked up a fine brush and dipped it in his ink. "Take my hat and place it with my coat." Ferret moved in to take the hat but Sarutobi stopped him. "I warn you, I suspect that enemy Shinobi may intercept you on your mission. There is a high chance that you will fail it-_ like usual._"

A strange noise came from behind Ferret's mask and Sarutobi couldn't hide the genuine amusement on his face. The elderly Shinobi cleared his throat. "However, I suppose I should give you a chance to explain yourself. After all, you are behaving very well today."

"Hokage-sama…" Ferret trailed off.

"Go on," Sarutobi urged. He gave a small smile that crinkled up his face. "I'm very impressed with your behavior but I know that you must be very eager to speak your mind, so I shall allow it."

"My mind?" Ferret repeated. "You want me to speak my mind?"

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><p><em>Kitsune is an A-ranked Shinobi gifted in all of the fields of battle. Taijustsu, Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, Fuinjutsu, Kenjutsu- there is no domain that Kitsune cannot claim some proficiency at. Kitsune's mission score is impressive and his exploits will undoubtedly go down in legend. <em>

_This is **not** Kitsune's story._

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><p>The Ferret mask came flying off the ANBU's head and a pair of cerulean-blue eyes glared at the elderly Hokage with righteous anger.<p>

"Dammit, old man!" Uzumaki Naruto howled. "Don't treat me like a common servant!"

Three marks, like whiskers, stretched the young ANBU's cheeks as his face twisted into a fierce scowl. The boy, who couldn't have been older than twelve or thirteen, was dressed in ANBU armour, armour plates covering the backs of his arms and grey armour strapped over his black tunic and pants. Three pouches hung on his waist and a bandage was wrapped around his right thigh. All in all, he was hardly an intimidating or imposing figure.

The Hokage looked genuinely confused. "Ah, I'm afraid I don't understand, Naruto," he said. A smile flickered on his face. "As one of my loyal ANBU and my personal bodyguard, I was under the impression that you _were_ my servant."

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><p><em>This is his story, the story of the ANBU named Uzumaki Naruto. Personally trained by the Third Hokage from a young age, Naruto entered the ranks of Genin at 8, Chunin at 10 and ANBU shortly after. Listed as a B-Ranked Shinobi in the latest Bingo Book, Naruto is the personal assistant and bodyguard of the legendary God of Shinobi, the Third Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. <em>

_Essentially, Naruto was his servant.  
><em>

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><p>"You're impossible!" Naruto snapped. He folded his arms with a huff and pouted. "Did you have to rub Kitsune in my face again?"<p>

"I find your dislike of Kitsune quite interesting," Sarutobi chuckled. He began to paint, his weathered old hands moving deftly despite his age. "I would assume that you would look up to your senior officers as role models. He is talented and you could learn much about the ways of the shinobi from him."

"Yeah, but Kitsune is such…such a…." Naruto seemed to be at a loss for words.

"Loyal and powerful Shinobi?" Sarutobi supplied.

"No, not that," Naruto snapped. Comprehension dawned on his face and he snapped his fingers. "Arsehole! Yeah, that's the word. Kitsune is an arsehole!"

Sarutobi chuckled good-naturedly and looked behind Naruto young blonde boy cocked his head in confusion before horror dawned on his face.

'_He's standing right behind me, isn't he?'_ he mouthed at Sarutobi, who merely smiled.

"Report," Sarutobi said.

"Mission complete." Naruto heard Kitsune's voice and closed his eyes in resignation.

"Good work, Kitsune," Sarutobi praised. "Your skill and dedication do you credit. There will be a debriefing with the Commander in fifteen minutes- I will be there shortly."

"Yes, sir." And then the ANBU was gone.

"I hate you," Naruto muttered with a scowl.

"How unfortunate," Sarutobi responded dryly. He stood up and motioned to Naruto, who rolled his eyes but obediently retrieved the Hokage's hat and cloak. Once Sarutobi had finished dressing himself, he waved Naruto off. "You're dismissed, Naruto. Report back at 1700 hours to complete routine assignment 4E."

"For once, could you make your own dinner?" Naruto muttered under his breath. He retrieved his mask and gave a short, clipped bow to the Hokage as protocol demanded. "I don't suppose you could talk to the Commander about that_ matter_ we discussed earlier?"

Sarutobi chuckled. "I rather like your mask, to be honest," he said and waved Naruto off. "Go, you little brat. Enjoy yourself while you can. Tomorrow I need you to watch Konohamaru and I'm sure you'll want to be well rested for that."

"I hate you so much sometimes, boss," Naruto said with abject horror.

"Welcome to ANBU, Naruto," Sarutobi chuckled and left, leaving the blonde demon host alone.

"Did it have to be Ferret?" Naruto whined to himself as he began cleaning up the Hokage's calligraphy set. "You'd think the Nine-Tailed Demon Host would get the Kitsune mask…" Naruto trailed off as he muttered some obscenities to himself.

ANBU sucked.

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><p><strong>ANBU Directive #4:<strong> _An ANBU must take the orders of the reigning Hokage with priority and before other duties._

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><p><strong>AN: It's been a while and I've been pretty bored over the past few weeks. I thought I'd take up some writing but I had no inspiration for any of my previous series or even Harry Potter in general. With that in mind, I thought I'd have a go at doing a Naruto story, since I've been wanting to do one for a while. That said, I had absolutely no idea what I wanted to write until I read a bad ANBU!Naruto story.**

**So yeah, I guess I'll bash a few clichés, try to make it a bit light-hearted and see where it will go. I'm thinking of a series of connected one-shots until I either get bored or inspired to write a fully-fleshed story.**

**I'm rusty, so if you care enough let me know what you think.**

**Cheers.**


	2. ANBU Directive 6

Three dark figures bounded through the air, little more than streaks of darkness against the green foliage of the forest. They leapt from branch to branch, moving at incredible speeds as they raced towards their destination. The trees rumbled and shuddered and the wind brought the sounds of distant cracks and whines, explosive tags and elemental jutsu clashing as the two sides waged war against each other. A flash illuminated the afternoon sky as a great ball of fire rocketed up past the trees.

One of the moving figures cocked his head back at his comrades and his fingers flashed in two other figures nodded and in a great burst of speed they leapt from the trees and onto their unsuspecting target. White and red robes billowed out in the wind as Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Hokage, turned his head to meet them.

One of the attackers flung his arm forward and kunai rushed forward. Sarutobi slightly shifted his head and the kunai missed, embedding into the ground. The Hokage raised his hands, fingers twisting through hand-seals in a blur, and a huge gust of wind struck the group. Two of the attackers righted themselves and dove to the ground while the other one was overcome and was sent flying. A set of shuriken slammed into the disorientated Shinobi and took him out of the fight, while the two others leapt at the Hokage. One drew a sword, the other formed a hand seal and inhaled.

It was over in a flash. A fire technique burst into existence and was brutally suppressed as a long rod of earth exploded from the ground and slammed into the attacking man's stomach. At the same time, Sarutobi tapped the ground with his foot and the ground around him rippled. A loud shudder rumbled through the ground and the set of kunai embedding in the ground around him- the same set with hissing explosive tags wrapped around the handles- exploded from the ground. The other attacked didn't even have time to blink as they exploded around him and finished him off.

The encounter was over in less than ten seconds.

"Hokage-sama!" An ANBU flickered into view, crouching down and waiting for orders. "The enemy leader has advanced on the field!"

Sarutobi nodded grimly, rubbing his short goatee. He tapped his ear, his dark brown eyes tightening in annoyance. "Communications are down," he grunted. He raised his hand, clicked his fingers and watched as two more ANBU appeared before him. "Teams Alpha and Charlie will continue flanking maneuvers!" he commanded. "I will take Team Delta and pacify the enemies advance. Go!"

"Yes, Hokage-sama!"

The ANBU left in a swirl of leaves and Sarutobi adjusted the Kage's hat on the top of his head. He motioned to the ANBU by his side and disappeared in a burst speed that far outstripped the younger and more physically able Shinobi by his side.

A few moments later and the trees began to thin. Smoke billowed out in the distance and the sound of metal clanging on metal became more distinct. Blurs rushed through the trees, some clashing with each other in a burst of sparks as kunai and swords met. A nearby blur paused on a branch, hands blurring in seals, and a torrent of water burst from the ground, destabilizing the enemy's position. The ANBU attacked, black cloaks meeting those with grey, and Sarutobi was pleased by the efficiency of his forces as they quickly dispatched the enemy.

"Where is he?" Sarutobi spoke to the nearest ANBU, who bowed her head respectfully.

"150 meters ahead in the clearing," the ANBU female reported. Her purple hair swayed behind her back, practically inviting the enemy to use it as leverage, but Sarutobi's eyes could see the miniscule tell-tale signs of chakra embodied through it. "We've secured the outer perimeter and await your orders."

"Very well," Sarutobi nodded. He drew himself up and flexed his chakra. The ANBU were well-trained enough not to flinch but some of them certainly tensed as the God of Shinobi prepared to let loose. "I will suppress the enemies defences! On my signal, move forward to attack!"

"Yes, sir!"

Sarutobi drew himself up and his hand flashed through a series of hand-seals. Chakra exploded from his elderly frame and the wind howled. Sarutobi melded the elemental chakra of earth, wind and water alongside each other and combined five separate techniques into a single rush of power. The ground burst open as geysers of water gushed to the surface and a tidal wave of water and mud, propelled by a shrieking gale, exploded past the tree line and into the heart of the enemy defenses.

"Go!" Sarutobi barked as he lowered his hands and his loyal ANBU sprang forward, a dozen dark blurs leaping past the devastating effects of his technique to disappear behind the tree line. As they left, Sarutobi took a deep breath and followed them in a burst of speed.

He reappeared in the middle of what used to be a clearing. Now it was a pit of muddied water, the ground cracked and broken. Whatever traps that the enemy had set up had been washed away by the power of his technique. As black and gray cloaked figures clashed with each other high above in the trees, the enemy of the Shinobi army stood in the clearing, waiting with his arms folded.

"I am the Third Hokage," Sarutobi said grimly, landing in the mud and water and walking across the surface. His white and red robes were somehow pristine despite the muck about them. "You have made an enemy of my village. I will accept your unconditional surrender and, in return, I will spare your life."

The somewhat young leader cocked his head, a Leaf headband glinting in the sunlight. The slash that ran through it marred its otherwise lustrous surface. "You know," Uzumaki Naruto said with a scowl. "This sucks. Why am I the one getting the beat down?"

"I see," Sarutobi nodded gravely, as if Naruto hadn't spoken. "Very well. If you are prepared to die for your cause then I am prepared to assist you!"

"Screw you, boss," Naruto said with a resigned sigh. Chakra exploded from him, a potent and heavy presence settling down over the clearing, and his blond hair ruffled from the effort. "Let's see if I can at least draw blood this time."

Naruto's hand darted his vest and he withdrew a kunai. Before the demon host had even felt the cold metal in his hands, there was an explosion of smoke as Sarutobi's hand struck the ground. Naruto winced as Enma, the Monkey King, was summoned into battle.

"What's this?" Enma asked, one yellow eye opening partly as he took in his surroundings. "The war games again? You're pushing them hard, Sarutobi."

"Enma!" Sarutobi barked grimly. "Help me defeat the leader of the missing nin!"

Enma glanced at Naruto and a somewhat nasty smile curled the large monkey's face. "With pleasure!" he grunted. "_Henge!"_

"Fuck you all!" Naruto whooped and the kunai flashed through the air as Enma exploded in a cloud of smoke. _"Kunai Shadow Clone!"_

One kunai became dozens and they rained down on the elderly Hokage. Sarutobi reached into the cloud of smoke and whirled around, the large adamantine staff of Enma bashing away all the kunai. They struck into the ground and trees, piercing rock and wood up to the hilt. Sarutobi whirled around again, facing Naruto, and Enma stretched forward, striking the blond in the chest.

Naruto's eyes widened with shock as he flew backwards, the pole slamming him into a tree with a pained grunt. Naruto was suspended there, still and unmoving, until Sarutobi abruptly pulled Enma back in and side stepped. A kunai flashed past his head, slamming into the adamantine staff and sliding down it in a shower of sparks as Naruto pressed up against the Hokage, his abnormally sharp canines bared in a menacing grin.

"_Rasengan!"_ He cried, his right hand pressing against the staff as his left hand brought a spiraling and whirling ball of pure chakra forward, straight into Sarutobi's chest. There was a flash and a terrible screeching noise as the ball of pure chakra tore past the ceremonial Hokage robes- and nothing else. Naruto only smiled grimly as he pulled his hand back, preparing to leap away- when suddenly the metal staff shifted and pushed away his kunai. A large white-furred hand zoomed from the end of the staff and wrapped around Naruto's throat.

The kunai fell from his grip. Before it had even hit the ground, however, Naruto had brought his hands together. _Bird. Ox. Dragon. Ram._ Lightning sparked at the tips of his fingers, chakra rushing through his body. It was shoddy and wasteful, too much chakra and not enough control, but Naruto gripped Enma's strangling hand with flickering blue hands and the Monkey King bellowed in pain as lightning was pushed into him. The hand quickly withdrew and Naruto immediately substituted himself with a nearby piece of debris.

He was a fraction of a second away from being knocked out as the substitution was successful just as Sarutobi burst from the ground, a grey gauntlet swinging around and catching the clone embedded in his substitution in the face, dispelling the illusion and obliterating the piece of wood. Naruto flashed through some signs and the wind howled through the clearing as a blade of wind tore from the blond's outstretched hand.

_Wind Release: Vacuum Wave! _Sarutobi's hands sped through _rat, snake, horse _and _dog _signs. He took a deep breath and spun around. A sphere of compressed sharpened air exploded from the aged Hokage, overwhelming the incoming wind blade. _Fire Release: Ash Burning Pile!_

The howling winds whipping around the Hokage became dirty with grey smoke. It quickly engulfed the area and Naruto's eyes widened. He raised his hands, performing a single hand sign, just as a loud crack filled the air and the smoke abruptly caught light. Fuelled by the power of _Vacuum Wave_, a massive flash of light and heat roared into the heavens as the entire clearing was engulfed in powerful searing flames. A nearby tree crackled and burned as the fire caught on to other parts of the forest, forcing several of the battling _Shinobi_ to retreat further and further away.

Sarutobi stood in the middle of this firestorm, seemingly unconcerned with the fires that licked harmlessly at his plated shoulders. The wizened Kage took a deep breath and his hands twisted into an unusual sign- one not part of the twelve common hand-seals. With a burst of pure chakra, Sarutobi cast his chakra and negated the storm of fire roaring around him with a single thought.

There was no sign of Naruto.

"I see," Sarutobi murmured, closing his eyes briefly. "You escaped my attack by tunneling underground and now you expect to jump up from behind me-"

The ground behind him exploded as something flashed up, metal glinting in the sun. Sarutobi dodged the first swipe and blocked the second with his forearm guards, looking amused. Naruto grinned back at him, his face sooty and streaked with water and mud.

"Man," Naruto whistled. "Fighting against the Third Hokage is scary. So many collaborative techniques by a single Shinobi…you really are a monster, aren't you?"

Sarutobi grunted but said nothing. A cool wind blew through the clearing as Naruto pressed down against the aged Hokage with all his strength. For that split second, they were at an impasse. Naruto was too young to have the necessary bulk to force his kunai against Sarutobi's guard without both hands, and the Third Hokage could practically feel his bones creaking against the sheer pressure Naruto was bringing down on him already. The sound of metal scraping against metal grinded on Naruto's ears and he felt a rush of satisfaction as Sarutobi was forced to take a step back-

_- _only to have a giant white-furred paw slam into him and grip him by the throat as Enma, the Monkey King, appeared with a burst of smoke.

"Naruto!" Enma roared, his yellow eyes practically glowing with outrage. The headband of the summon glinted as Enma shoved his face right in front of the blond ANBU. "What did you just say to your _Hokage_?"

Naruto gurgled something but he had the strange feeling that it was lost in translation underneath the crushing paws that gripped his throat. His grip on his kunai failed and Sarutobi pushed away his flailing with ease. Naruto desperately tried to use the replacement technique but the Monkey King had gripped him too tight for the technique to take effect. Although, there was the _other_ way he could escape…

But in the end it was easier to submit. Sarutobi leaned back, his foot flicking something up from the mud, and a kunai soared into the air. The Third Hokage grabbed it and with a backhanded blow, drove the unforgiving metal deep into Naruto's chest. Naruto grunted at the painful sensation- but it was nothing compared to the sensation of a _real_ kunai. As soon as the metal had touched his chest it had taken on a purplish-orange haze. The seals embedded in his training uniform also reacted, resulting in a display of Fuinjutsu that the young demonhost didn't really understand, but made the kunai only moderately irritating.

"Alas," Naruto deadpanned. "I have fallen."

His quip probably would have sounded better if it hadn't come from the gurgles and gasps he was still emitting as Enma squeezed tighter and tighter-

"That's enough, I think," Sarutobi wheezed. He appeared to be breathing a little harder than usual, although it was hard to tell with him.

Enma complied and disappeared with a puff of smoke. Naruto gasped for air as he fell to the ground, reveling in the sensation of cool air flowing to his lungs. He panted as Sarutobi straightened out his clothing. During that fight, his robes hadn't even gotten muddy. Naruto scowled as he slowly clambered to his feet.

"Ferret," Sarutobi murmured, his eyes taking in the devastation around him. In the nearby distance, battles were still being fought. "Transmit this to all other operatives- Operation Message #3C: the operation has concluded. All ANBU, report for further orders."

Naruto made a grunt in the back of his throat but complied. His fingers drifted over the red swirl of the ANBU tattoo on his shoulder and he channeled chakra into it. A small flash of smoke swirled around him. When it cleared, Naruto was dressed in his ANBU garb, a white porcelain mask covering his face. Naruto carefully went through a dozen hand-seals and placed the palm of his hand on his ANBU tattoo. All throughout the forest around them, ANBU operatives battling at each other stilled as a message was telepathically transmitted across the short distance.

"_Attention- all active ANBU forces within Training Group #7- ANBU Operative designated as 'Ferret' brings operation orders #3C- Orders are as follows: Operation Concluded, success to team designated as 'Red'. Report to grid coordinates 13-A-67 for orders."_

It was no Yamanaka technique but it did the job. Naruto removed his hand and waited for the horribly-dizzying sensation that always accompanied him when he used the technique. He was sure that the Third Hokage could have easily performed the technique himself-

A massive wave of nausea and a sudden blinding migraine struck him.

But if the Hokage wanted to do all of the grunt work then he wouldn't have fast-tracked a naive _genin_ into becoming his personal assistant all those years ago, would he?

Naruto waited out the aftereffects of his techniques, which were not surprising considering his age and proficiency in the arts of mental communication and warfare. There was a reason why the techniques were usually learned specifically by Communication Officers and few others. As his headache abated he could hear the sound of ANBU appeared in the clearing. It was a soft, almost inaudible sound- a small quiet displacement of air and elite Shinobi appeared from well-timed _Body Flicker_ techniques and landing silently on the mud-soaked and scorched earth. Most would have missed it.

Naruto was _just_ that good.

He hoped.

So was Sarutobi, it seemed, as he continued to rest his eyes until he heard the arrival of the last ANBU operative, a man whose armour had cracked and fallen apart waist height. The ANBU took their training seriously.

"The operation has concluded," Sarutobi said quietly but his voice was heard by all in the clearing. "The rebel uprising led by former-ANBU operative Uzumaki Naruto has been suppressed. As the leaders of both sides of the rebellion, he and I have reached a satisfactory conclusion."

Naruto's eyes widened and he wanted to whimper.

"Uzumaki will take full responsibility for his actions!" Sarutobi thundered. Some of the ANBU snickered as the sheer agony that was radiating off the ferret-masked blonde by the Hokage's side. "All ANBU operatives in the team designated as 'Blue' will be integrated back into the rank and file! Uzumaki Naruto, as the leader of the insurrection, shall provide compensation to each and every single one of you on top of additional administrative duties!"

"Wait, what?" Naruto cried out.

Sarutobi reached over and absently whacked his assistant across the back of his head. The sheer force of the plated armguard sent Naruto sprawling into the mud. Without skipping a beat, the Third Hokage continued.

"All food and leisure costs will be reimbursed directly from the failed rebel, Uzumaki Naruto!" Sarutobi concluded. "Spare no expense on his account! As a traitor, he must learn from his mistakes! Compensation will be personally delivered by the little brat, as well as a most sincere apology for his actions! Had he merely accepted his fate, we would not have had to perform our Operational Training Drills again so soon. ANBU Teams Alpha through Delta, you are dismissed!"

Many of the ANBU chuckled out loud. Some of them called out cheerful thanks to Naruto and waved. Naruto remained oblivious to it all as he lay in the mud, scowling fiercely. The masked figures disappeared after a few moments, more than willing to have a night on the town at the poor blond's expense.

"Why?" Naruto cried out as he threw his hands in the air. He wailed to the heavens despondently. "Why me? What did I do to deserve this?"

Sarutobi took out his pipe, puffing on it solemnly. "Learn from your mistakes, Naruto," he said sternly, not hiding his amusement at all. He puffed out some smoke. "The next time I ask you to complete some paperwork it had better be done. Are we understood?"

"Yes, boss," Naruto wept pitifully as he climbed up from the mud.

Sarutobi chuckled as his blond assistant and ANBU guard took his customary place on his left side. He reached out with one hand and ruffled the boy's locks of hair fondly.

"Now," he said. "Let's talk about our little spar, shall we? I noticed that your lightning manipulation was quite poorly channeled. With your level of chakra, I expect better from you! If an old man like me can defeat you so easily then you need to train more!"

"Yes, boss," Naruto replied blandly.

"Quiet! I wasn't done!" Sarutobi whacked Naruto over the back of his head and hid a grin at his subordinate's furious reaction.

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><p><strong>ANBU Directive #6: <strong>_**An ANBU must be healthy in mind and body, willing and able to reach their peak performance in order to attend to their duties**_

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><p><strong>AN: A big thanks to the DLP crowd for feedback and that- especially Knight504, who picked up some of the many spelling mistakes I've undoubtedly made.**_  
><em>


	3. ANBU Directive 2

Located in the heart of Fire Country, Konoha was regarded as the largest military and economic power within all of the Elemental Countries. Boasting of a Shinobi population of over ten thousand, Konoha served not only as a military force but one of the primary driving forces of Fire Country's economy. Clients from the Land of Fire and beyond highly valued the work ethic and efficiency of Konoha's Shinobi and Leaf Shinobi were the first choice by many when a task needed to be done. Each day, hundreds of Shinobi teams would leave and return to the Village to complete missions. The majority of these were made up of _C_ and _D-ranked_ missions, suitable for Konoha's well-trained and diverse field of Chunin and Genin.

For the most part, Clients visiting Konoha would be directed to the Mission Assignment Desk located in the Administrative section of the Academy. There, Chunin would take down the mission details, organise teams to complete said missions and accept payments. It was a well-oiled machine that made use of the vast majority of rank-and-file Shinobi. Failed Graduates of the Shinobi Academy usually found themselves in bureaucratic positions or acting as messengers, while the average Chunin team would complete the vast majority of the missions. While it wasn't as glamorous as the high-risk and dangerous missions handed out at the Hokage's Tower to the elite, these jobs generated a large percentage of Konoha's revenue and were seen vital to Village prosperity.

It was for that reason that Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Hokage of the Village Hidden in Leaves, would often leave the Hokage Tower and direct many of these missions personally. Not only was he able to meet the clientele, many who were suitably impressed by the infamous _God of Shinobi_, but it gave him a chance to work with the average Shinobi that generally would not get a chance to interact with their leader. As the Hokage's personal guard and assistant, Uzumaki Naruto would usually accompany him. Between filing reports, meeting with clients, scheduling meetings and even assigning missions, the young ANBU agent received his share of Konoha's bureaucratic juggernaut with not-so-quiet dignity.

Sarutobi puffed happily on his pipe as he adjusted the conical hat on his head. A white cloak draped over his red full-length gown. He sat at the head of a large wooden table, one of many. Around him, scores of Chunin hustled busily, taking down mission details, referring clients to other Chunin and bundling paperwork to be sorted and filed. Teams of Ninja would occasionally enter, greet their client and leave. It was an efficient system first started by the Second Hokage and continued by his successor.

"My Lord, Hokage," greeted an enthusiastic man. He was rather round and large, with the strange curly hairstyle favoured by the Nobles of the Fire Court. "Your health appears well!"

Sarutobi puffed once more and removed the pipe from his lips, the predominant lines under his eyes curving up as he smiled. "Greetings, Lord Shinji," he replied back. He coughed once into his hand. "How may our village assist you today?"

"I require a team of your best spies!" Shinji replied and his face darkened. He leaned forward, his eyes furtively darting around the room. "I think _you-know-who _ is going to make his move. I must have accurate intelligence if I am to counter?"

"I see," Sarutobi murmured, stroking his small goatee. "Then, the contracts from the Land of Tea have not yet been finalized?"

"Soon," Shinji said, frowning. He rubbed his hands on his fine clothes. "With your help, of course."

"I recommend that you go and see Nara Ren and give him your details," Sarutobi said. "We shall, of course, provide you with some of our finest Chunin."

"Excellent," Shinji bowed deeply. "My thanks, Hokage-sama."

Sarutobi smiled and moved his pipe back in his mouth as the portly noble walked off. He puffed a few more times, his eyes flickering to his right. _"Ferret!"_ he barked.

There was a crash of paper and a cry of dismay. Naruto, clad in his sleeveless armour, ANBU tattoo bared for the world to see, had been startled and lost his grip on the large stack of paperwork he had been carefully balancing. Scrolls and paperwork went flying and fell to the ground in a huge mess, leaving a despondent ANBU.

"Pick up that mess this instant," Sarutobi grunted. "This is the center of Konoha's business, not a rubbish heap!"

Naruto began scooping up the paper from the wooden floor. Sarutobi watched with a keen eye.

"Remember," he said as Naruto began to load his arms again. "Many short trips will make light work of one hard task!"

Naruto grunted something under his breath as he dropped a stack of scrolls on the table. They formed a messy pile as the Chunins around him ignored him with well-practised ease. With a single hand sign, two more Naruto's shimmered into existence around him and together the three of them picked up the rest of the scrolls. They flickered and disappeared from sight as Sarutobi went back to puffing on his pipe happily.

"Ferret!" he commanded after a few moments and couldn't stop the small smile that curved the corner of his lips as Naruto returned in a flash, responding to his summons with all due haste. Malice practically radiated from the kneeling blonde as Sarutobi lifted a hand and pointed. "You forgot one…"

"Thank-you, _Hokage-sama,_" Naruto responded between gritted teeth. In a flash of movement, he took the offending scroll and disappeared again.

Sarutobi waited a little longer this time. "Ferret!" he barked. The two nearest Chunins were watching with amused interest as Naruto reappeared again, a cloud of smoke signifying his appearance as his control slipped, probably due to his annoyance.

"Yes, sir?" Naruto spat out.

"You're laces are undone," Sarutobi said. He nodded sagely. "Remember: you will never overcome large hurdles when the smallest of obstacles threaten to entangle you."

"Begging your pardon, sir," Naruto said with forced politeness. "But I'm wearing sandals."

"Oh," Sarutobi uttered. He paused, thoughtfully puffing on his pipe. "Well then, never mind." He dismissed Naruto with a wave of his hand. "Hurry up! Those scrolls will not file themselves!"

A loud pop roared through the room, startling clients and Chunin alike as Naruto disappeared with a loud cloud of smoke and the sound of grinding teeth. Several of the other Shinobi were snickering and even Sarutobi was outright chuckling.

The Third Hokage's good mood abruptly vanished, however, as he felt a familiar presence approaching. His face smoothed over as he drew himself up, masking his slight puzzlement with well-practised ease. Out of the busy room, he was undoubtedly one of the only ones who saw the man enter, sliding between clients and Shinobi effortlessly and making his way towards Sarutobi.

"Danzo," Sarutobi said as way of a greeting. "What brings you to the Mission Assignment desk?"

Danzo Shimura inclined his head respectfully. He leaned heavily on his cane, his right arm done up in a sling and his torso heavily bandaged. Despite his apparent physical injuries, his chakra was sharp and potent. His one single eye betrayed his appearance as a cripple- aged and scarred as he was Danzo was still a warrior at heart- despite his retirement as Head of the Special ANBU Division- Root. Trailing after him was a young boy with jet black hair, pale skin and dark eyes.

"Hokage-sama," Danzo greeted and raised his head. "I was merely showing my latest students around Konoha's areas of importance."

"Your latest student," Sarutobi repeated quietly.

"Of course," Danzo said without any emotion. "There are still those who regard my skills quite highly. It's an honour to pass on what I know to the next generation."

Sarutobi grunted at that. "Ferret!" he barked. This time, Naruto appeared by his side flawlessly, his face hidden by his ANBU mask. The young bodyguard had undoubtedly felt the familiar chakra as well and after several years in Sarutobi's service knew that Danzo was somebody not to be trifled with.

"So that's…" Danzo trailed off, a thoughtful expression flittering over his face. It was hard to read the emotions of a man who had half his face covered in thick bandages. "We meet again."

"Elder," Naruto greeted coolly. He turned and bowed deep to Sarutobi. "How may I serve you, Hokage-sama?"

"Could you please prepare a small room so that Danzo and I may catch up?" Sarutobi requested quietly. He stood up, his white cloak fluttering as he moved. "We shall be there shortly."

"At once," Naruto responded and disappeared.

A few minutes later, Sarutobi and Danzo adjourned to a more private setting. Naruto had done well, Sarutobi absently thought, as both he and Danzo took a seat at a long, highly polished wooden table. Naruto was nearby, quietly preparing a steaming pot of tea, while Danzo's latest student stood behind his tutor.

"And what would your name be?" Sarutobi inquired gently, puffing on his pipe and eying the pale boy shrewdly. He looked to be Naruto's age but the Third Hokage could see the leanness of muscle displayed, the unnatural attention that the boy paid to movement and perfect balance that he seemed to have.

The boy's smile was horrific, as bland and empty as a corpse. "I am called Sai," he said. He bowed his head, not a hair a fraction out of place. "It's an honour to meet you, Hokage-sama."

Sarutobi grunted. "I'm sure he told you to say that," he replied, feeling irritable all of a sudden. "Ferret! Where's my tea?"

"I will be there momentarily, Hokage-sama," Naruto replied evenly, his back facing the table as he bent down, focused on his work.

"If I may, Hokage-sama?" Danzo requested and leaned forward. "I would like a demonstration."

"Oh?" Sarutobi raised an eyebrow. "Of what, exactly."

Danzo smiled.

In a flash of movement, Sai lunged at Sarutobi with speed far beyond those of his age level. A sword appeared in his hand as he streaked across the long wooden table in the span of a heartbeat. Deadly intent flashed through the room and Sarutobi's eyes widened fractionally as he read the young man's eyes. There was no doubt- the boy was aiming to kill.

His attack lasted a whole two seconds and he didn't even make it half way across the table.

Naruto was there to meet him, the masked ANBU suddenly radiating a terrible aura of power. Dark, heavy and oppressing chakra flooded the room- the wooden table began to crack and the rack of saucers and cups rattled. The sword met a kunai and the two young boys locked arms. Despite his emotionless face, Sarutobi could read the surprise in his would-be-assassins movements as four more Naruto's suddenly surrounded him. Blank-face ANBU masks peered down at the would-be attacker with no mercy and kunai lashed out at vital points.

The young boy immediately jumped back, Naruto's kunais only barely missing the killing blow. His blood splattered across the table and Naruto followed up with a devastating kick that launched Sai away from the Hokage. He flew down the table and past Danzo, who didn't even looked ruffled as his apprentice slammed into the wall with a dull thump. All five Narutos were in the process of weaving through hand-seals when Sarutobi raised a hand.

"Enough," he murmured. Naruto paused, angry dark chakra whirling around him. "Naruto. Leave us."

"Boss!" Naruto protested.

"I am not so weak that I need you to fight my battles!" Sarutobi snapped. He snapped his fingers and Naruto reluctantly backed down, the shadow clones shimmering from existence the heavy pressure abruptly vanishing from the room. "Take our young foolish attacker to the medical center."

Sarutobi could tell that Naruto was absolutely furious with the order but if there was one thing that Naruto had learned after five years working with the Third Hokage it was that the old man did not like to repeat himself. Naruto walked over to blood-splattered Sai, hoisted his body over his shoulder with some effort and disappeared.

"What ominous chakra," Danzo murmured. He stood, limping his way across the table towards the pot of tea. With a single deft hand, the crippled elder flawlessly continued on from where Naruto had left off and handed Sarutobi a cup of steaming team. "I haven't felt chakra like that since you were a child, Hiruzen."

Sarutobi grunted and tucked his pipe inside his robes. "Naruto has potential," was all he said as he took a sip. "He is quite talented."

"That's an understatement," Danzo said with a dry chuckle. With a cup of tea balanced on the back of his hand, he leaned on his walking stick and made his way to the other end of the table. Both men ignored the large crack and dripping blood in the middle of the table. "He is very impressive for a child so young. I can only think of a few who showed such potential at his age."

"Kakashi," Sarutobi supplied. "Itachi. Orochimaru. Sakumo."

"Yourself," Danzo countered. He leaned his walking stick against the table and sipped his tea. "I would suggest that he is more like you than the others. That chakra was very much like yours during your early years when you struggled to find control and he is not burdened with the broken bonds of family as many of those other names were."

"He carries his burden well," Sarutobi admitted. There was no mistaking the pride in his voice. "He is strong and quick to learn."

"He does not have arrogance," Danzo said quietly and Sarutobi stilled. "Kakashi, Orochimaru, they were both arrogant. It took a tragedy to break Kakashi's and Orochimaru never lost his."

Sarutobi let out a snort of laughter. "Naruto is too busy cleaning up after his mistakes to worry about his status," he said, chuckling. "He can be a clumsy boy, foolish at times."

"Very foolish," Danzo agreed, taking another sip. "What young Shinobi uses the _God of Shinobi_ as a measuring stick against his skills? To compare himself to such a man, it would keep any Shinobi level-headed."

The two sat in comfortable silence, sipping their tea.

"I must say," Danzo murmured after a few moments. "Uzumaki Naruto has many of the qualities of an aspiring Hokage."

Sarutobi said nothing.

"Ah," Danzo uttered and closed his eye. He bowed his head, looking in deep thought. "I see."

"Partially," Sarutobi supplied and saw the first glimmer of a frown on his one-time rivals face.

"You have become most insufferable as of late, Hiruzen," Danzo said, setting down his now-empty cup of tea. "That boy has helped sharpen your blade- a far cry of who you were ten years ago." He stood up, taking his cane. "My advice to an old friend would be thus: don't ever slip back to what you once were."

"Is that so?" Sarutobi replied quietly. His brown eyes watched Danzo carefully. "That's very interesting advice."

"I would say 'useful'," Danzo replied. His one eye hardened as he gazed down at the man who had beaten him to the hat. "I will always do what's best for the village that we both love so much."

"As do I," said Sarutobi softly.

"Good," Danzo said abruptly. "Continue to do so. The Will of Fire rests upon your shoulders." He turned around and began to limp out the door, leaving the Third staring at nothing in particular, deep in thought.

Naruto returned a few moments later.

"Hokage-sama?" He inquired. He paused as the old man did not reply. "Boss?" The concern in his voice was evident. "What's wrong?"

Sarutobi blinked. "What's wrong?" he repeated. His arm rose and he lashed out at Naruto, sending the masked blond boy soaring through the air. "Why is there a mess on this table? What's with that crack? Ferret! Attend to your duties!"

"Ow," Naruto groaned as he pulled himself free from the plaster and out of the wall that the Third had just sent him flying into. "You old bastard!" He shook his fist.

"Don't get angry with me, boy!" Sarutobi yelled as the fire returned to his veins. He glared at Naruto. "You just put a hole in my wall! Explain yourself!"

"What? Huh? But you…" Naruto trailed off in a round of indignant splutters as the Third abruptly whacked his head again. "Alright, alright," he groaned, rubbing his abused head. "I'll clean up, _you wrinkled old slave driver…_"

"What was that?" Sarutobi thundered.

"Nothing!"

Sarutobi watched Naruto carefully as the young assistant began to frantically clean up the room. A small smile flashed across his face but it disappeared as soon as it came and the Third picked up his cup of tea and began to sip it between scoldings.

* * *

><p><strong>Directive #2:<strong> _An ANBU must be willing to give up their life to protect the embodiment of the Will of Fire: the current reigning Hokage of the Village Hidden in Leaves and the Daimyo of the Fire Country, and the great Village Hidden in Leaves_

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><p><strong>AN: Apparently the Mission Assignment Desk is located at the Ninja Academy, as well as the Hokage's office. The large building in front of the Hokage's Monument is the Hokage's mansion and is apparently filled with scrolls and little else. Am I the only one who thinks that having a military base of operations (and mercenary work could be classed as military operations) next to a school is a bad idea? Again, thanks to DLP for their help on this chapter.**


	4. ANBU Directive 1

One of the largest buildings in Konoha was the Hokage's Residence (also known as the Hokage's Tower). It was located quite close to the Shinobi Academy and had been constructed just underneath the Hokage's monument. The Hokage's residence towered over most of the other buildings in Konoha and was home to many different departments. ANBU Headquarters lay directly beneath it, guarded carefully by the elusive masked Shinobi. There were libraries filled with countless scrolls. Records of previous missions, character profiles of friendly and enemy Shinobi and thousands upon thousands of technique scrolls could all be found inside. The Third Hokage was infamously known for single-handedly learning and mastering each and every single technique scroll that Konoha had to offer. The Hokage's Tower was also where _A_ and _S-ranked_ missions were handed out to elite teams of Jonin and ANBU. Prestigious clients were sometimes given the privilege of visiting but rarely saw much activity as all as elite-level Shinobi received their missions and left with speeds too quick for the untrained eye to see. Matters of village security were also dealt here, far away from the prying eyes of the normal Shinobi workforce.

It was also where the Third Hokage and his family lived. Since his fast-tracked promotion to Chunin and allocation as the Hokage's personal assistant and guard, Uzumaki Naruto had been one of the few people in Konoha's history to call the Hokage's Tower home.

Naruto suddenly opened his eyes. One moment he was asleep and the next he was awake and alert. The young ANBU rolled over and glanced at his alarm clock. 6:59 AM. He hopped out of bed, removing the froggy night-cap that he still loved so much and quickly pressing his thumb against the red spiralling tattoo on his exposed shoulder. He channelled chakra and his bedclothes abruptly vanished. A second pulse of chakra saw a set of armour appear neatly around his form. A pair of dulled metal arm-guards covered his forearms, extending over his gloved hands. His upper arms were bare and he wore a tight black shirt with a grey armoured vest covering his chest. His long dark pants reached his ankles, where he wore sandals, and there were three small pouches strapped around his waist with a bandage tied around his right leg. He hadn't put the mask on and it dangled from his utility belt.

"Oh yeah," Naruto said with a cocky grin, exposing his sharper than normal canines. "I look awesome."

After he was done checking himself out, he adjusted the mask on his belt and strode through the door. With a well-practised movement, he turned off the clock just as it flipped from 6:59 to 7:00 and the first tones of the alarm went off. It was time for him to perform one of the most dangerous aspects of his job- waking up the Third Hokage.

"Oi!" Naruto shouted loudly as he entered the master bedroom of the Hokage's residence. He felt an itching sensation around his ANBU tattoo as the complex barrier seals recognised his identity and allowed him to pass without reducing him to a pile of steaming ash. "It's time to wake up!"

The lump curled around the thick blankets in the middle of the king-sized poster bed quivered. Naruto rolled his eyes as he began stretching. He found it completely ridiculous that the rest of Konoha idolised Sarutobi as some kind of holier-than-thou figure of everlasting power and might. Only Naruto, he had decided firmly, knew the real truth. Sarutobi was a cranky, perverted old man who took way too much pleasure in abusing his poor loyal subordinates for his own amusement! Naruto, being in the position that he was, saw this the most- the discrete reading of that _oh-so-temping_ orange book, the short giggles when the old man caught a glimpse of a beauty, the way the boss adjusted his hat to have his afternoon snooze in the busiest of places and the way that the old man slept in _every_ morning for the past four and a half years!

"Do we really have to do this again?" Naruto pleaded. It was a familiar question as it was one he had to ask extremely often. He only received a grunt in response. He sighed. "Have it your own way, then?" He raised his hands and twisted then into a single hand-seal. _Water Release: Waterfall Technique!_

He heaved a breath and spat a mouthful of water, which sprayed through the air in an arc. Hands contorting in another hand seal, the mouthful of water became a giant torrent which swept through the room and washed over the poster bed. His technique completed, Naruto shifted his weight and leapt up towards the roof, using chakra to grab a foothold on the ceiling. A second later, a shower of kunai pelted the floor where he had been standing with incredible force, smashing apart floorboards and tearing into carpet.

"Good morning!" Naruto exclaimed cheerfully as he dropped from the roof. "I will be serving breakfast in ten minutes if you'd like to get ready, boss."

Sarutobi emerged from the drenched wetlands that had once been his bed, his brown eyes bleary and his white hair wet with moisture. Apart from that, the Third Hokage was completely dry and Naruto absently wondered what technique the wily old man had used to escape his wake-up call _this_ time.

"What's with this mess?" Sarutobi grumbled loudly. He cleared his throat. "Clean this up immediately!"

Naruto just smiled. "Already on it, sir!" he said cheerfully. He snapped his fingers and three shadow clones appeared in the room holding a mop, a bucket, a small roll of carpet and a couple of new floorboards. "We'll have this fixed soon, so if you'd like to make your way to the kitchen…"

"Little smartarse…" Sarutobi grumbled as he shuffled his way out of the room. None of the clones saw the little smile playing on his face.

"Right," the original Naruto said, folding his arms. "Routine Assignment #3E- clean up the old man's mess- begins! I'll go and make breakfast. You guys take care of this and then begin the morning training!"

He left as the first Shadow Clone made the _ram _sign and began to use water-based nature manipulation to suck out all of the moisture within the room and deposit in the bucket. The second was bending down and plucking the kunai out of the floor and the third was stripping the Hokage's bed. It was a well-practised routine and one they had done many times before- although the Third Hokage didn't always use kunai.

* * *

><p>Breakfast time at the Sarutobi house was interesting and Naruto would always find himself running around trying to take care of five things at once. The Third Hokage would play with his breakfast, bowls of oats, plates of buttered toast, hot bacon and eggs and fresh fruit merely being toyed with. The Third's grandson, Konohamaru, would scoff down his food as soon as he got it, bits of it flying everywhere. Naruto would desperately try to get Konohamaru's lunch done in time while making the boy slow down and eat properly, and at the same time, forcing the Third Hokage to eat a least a plateful before grabbing a bite himself.<p>

It hadn't always been this bad, Naruto reflected despondently. His hands were a blur as he wrapped up the last of Konohamaru's food and placed it in the bag. The Third had been quite good to him when he first arrived and he would usually join Konohamaru in his meals as the several staff did all the work. However, as Naruto grew into his responsibilities the old man got worse and worse, until each morning was like wrestling with a wild boar. Sometimes Naruto thought that the Hokage's was deliberately doing it to piss him off.

"You, eat!" Naruto barked, pointing one angry finger at the Hokage. The Third was dressed in his long white robes and his conical hat was pointed downwards, shielding his eyes. "If you snooze then you're not going to get anything!"

Sarutobi grunted and made a noise that might have been one of agreement and he lifted his hat. The old man yawned, absently toying with his bowl of porridge. Naruto glared at him until he caught movement at the corner of eye. He whirled around, blue eyes narrowing into slits. Konohamaru, with his arm cocked back and a plate of sauce-smeared bacon in his hand, froze with widened eyes.

"Sit!" Naruto snapped. He appeared behind the young brat in a lightning-fast body flicker and forced him back on his seat. "Eat properly like a human instead of a monkey!"

Naruto sighed as Konohamaru continued to shovel food in his mouth. He glanced at Sarutobi, who had again hid his eyes behind his hat and was snoring quite loudly, and he sighed.

"You're the Hokage of the most powerful Shinobi village in the world! Stop slacking off and eat your breakfast!" Naruto bellowed and Sarutobi jerked awake. The old man seemed to wilt underneath Naruto's dangerous look and began to quickly eat the food in front of him.

Something hit him in the back of the head and there was a giggle.

"Think that's funny, do you?" Naruto asked dangerously, spinning around to face the little boy.

Konohamaru's giggles turned into full blown laughter as Naruto buckled underneath a sudden heavy weight that slammed into his head. There was a crash as a bowl broke on his head and something warm and oozy dripped down into his hair. He glanced at the Hokage, whose eyes were closed and his arm still outstretched as he finished the last spoonful of his breakfast. "That's it!"

Sudden heavy and oppressive chakra filled the room. Konohamaru squeaked and Sarutobi's eyes opened a fraction as Naruto flipped through some hand-seals. _"Naruto Release!"_ He shouted angrily. _"Breakfast Shuriken Technique!"_

Chakra flared and the kitchen became a whirlwind of food as Naruto spread his arms around and the food on the table leapt from their plates and span right into the faces of Konohamaru and Sarutobi. Bacon followed the toast which followed the eggs and fruit. The technique only lasted a few seconds and by the end both occupants of the table were covered in food.

"Right," Naruto breathed as the room fell silent. He pointed at the Third Hokage. "You will go and get washed up and ready for work! If you're not in your office at 9am sharp then I'm not doing any of your paperwork for the day!" Sarutobi jerked at that. "And you!" Naruto growled, spinning around to face Konohamaru. "You're coming with me to have another shower right now!"

"I don't want to!" Konohamaru said defiantly. He folded his arms and turned away.

"Listen here, _brat!_" Naruto growled and shoved his face directly in front of the young boys. "There are two ways we can do this- the hard way where I throw you into cold shower or the _really_ hard way where I throw the cold shower _at you_!"

Konohamaru gulped.

* * *

><p>Twenty minutes later, Naruto and Konohamaru were walking through the streets of Konoha towards the Academy. The blonde-haired ANBU had cleaned himself up and was wearing his porcelain mask over his face. Konohamaru was pouting as Naruto led him past the shops and villagers, many of whom waved or bowed at the young boy. Naruto didn't miss several of them giving him strange looks and merely scoffed. His mask was on purely for protocol at this point because it wasn't like his identity was a secret to that many people. After all, how many short blonde ANBU members were there?<p>

Still, he supposed it was better than the looks he used to get.

"Right," Naruto said as the Academy loomed up ahead. "Make sure you be good today. No pranks! No mucking around! If I have to come and catch you, you'll be sorry!"

"Yeah, yeah," Konohamaru said with a jeer. He huffed. "As if you could find me!"

"Brat," Naruto said crossly but he ruffled the young boy's hair affectionately. "It's your Graduation Exam today, isn't it?"

"You remembered?" Konohamaru asked in surprise. He chuckled bitterly. "Of course you did. Gramps didn't."

Naruto made a small sound of comprehension. "I'm sure he knows," he said breezily.

"He didn't say anything at breakfast," Konohamaru muttered. He looked at the ground, kicking a small stone away. "He just sat there being stupid again."

"_You_ didn't say anything either," Naruto admonished. He wagged his finger. "I swear, you two are both as bad as each other. You're definitely Sarutobi, you two."

Konohamaru looked up hopefully as Naruto glanced down, smiling kindly behind his mask. "There's no doubt about it," the ANBU said. "He's definitely thinking about you today."

Konohamaru beamed. "Thanks, Naruto," he said quietly. As soon as the two entered the gates of the Academy he bolted off to find his friends, leaving Naruto holding his lunch alone.

"Come back!" Naruto called out but the brown-haired boy had disappeared amongst the milling crowds of parents and students. He sighed. "You little shit…"

Naruto made his way through the Academy Grounds. The students he met had once given him wide eyed looks and muttered to each other quietly. Now he was a regular occurrence, the young ANBU agent tasked with escorting the Third's Grandson to school. They still gave him the odd look, especially when they noted how short and young he seemed, but in the true fashion of children they mostly ignored him now. The parents were mostly the same, although he exchanged a respectful nod with Nara Shikaku, the current Jonin Commander. The two had had dealings in the past. He also exchanged a quick 'hello' with Yamanaka Inoichi, the tall blonde-haired man who worked in Konoha's Intelligence Division.

"Ah, Iruka!" Naruto called out. He flickered out of the crowd and appeared in front of the scarred Chunin, who had been turning to see who had called out his name.

"Gah!" Iruka jumped as he came face to face with the creepy porcelain mask of an ANBU member. He held his hand over his heart. "Oh, it's you."

Naruto held up the bag. "This is Konohamaru's," he explained. "The little brat ran off before I could give it to him."

"I see," Iruka said. He took the bag. "Thank you."

His voice, as usual, was respectful and polite when he spoke to Shinobi many called Sarutobi's Right Hand. Iruka had just been assigned to the Academy when Uzumaki Naruto, with the assistance of the Third Hokage, had graduated early. He hadn't had much to do with the young boy for years until he had reappeared from seemingly out of nowhere as the Hokage's personal assistant and guard. The ferret-masked boy had quickly become a common sight at the Mission Assignment Office as he accompanied the Hokage and performed many duties. Personally, Iruka felt a little sorry for him. The Hokage could be quite hard on the young ANBU and Iruka wondered if Naruto managed to ever get much of a break.

"Will Konohamaru do well today?" Naruto asked and Iruka blinked, shaken out of his thoughts.

"It's hard to say," Iruka admitted. "He's certainly not the most academic-driven student we have." Naruto made a noise in the back of his throat at that and Iruka chuckled. "That said," the scarred Chunin continued, "His weapon skills and _Taijutsu_ is quite good. It's why he was moved ahead past his age-group, he's already quite gifted in that area. Still, he's having some trouble with the _Henge_. We'll have to see how he goes today."

"I see," Naruto said. He rubbed the back of his head. "Well, I better be off. Thanks for speaking with me."

"You're welcome," Iruka said. "Goodbye, Naruto-san."

* * *

><p>The day proceeded like any other normal day. Naruto worked with the Third Hokage in the mission room, filling papers, organising meetings and taking down mission details. The Fire Daimyo's Wife had arrived in Konoha a few days earlier and had already lost her pet on four different times. Several of Konoha's largest merchants were interested in obtaining a new breed of spice that was found growing in the Land of Rice, although many of them were reluctant to pay the higher mission costs required, as relations with the Land of Rice had been strangely distant and hostile than before. A quartet of Shinobi from the Village Hidden in Grass arrived with a routine message for the Hokage and a dark-cloaked man wanted a team to perform a dangerous mission to retrieve his family heirloom and had been whisked away to the Hokage's Tower to debrief the elite Shinobi who would needed to complete a mission of that difficulty.<p>

All in all, nothing unusual.

Later that afternoon, Naruto found himself leaping over the rooftops of Konoha delivering messages to various persons and businesses on behalf of the Mission Assignment Office and the Hokage. From what Naruto had gathered, most were receipts and a short message on the details of the successful mission needed to claim when applying for tax cuts. There was one curiously lumped parcel that had arrived from intentional Delivery that had passed inspection which was left at the reception desk of the Shinobi Academy. Naruto finished the last of his errands just as the sun was going down and made his way to the Training Grounds. Each day, he was officially given two hours to work on his physical training. Unofficially, however, Naruto trained all day long on the various different projects he was working on.

"Yo!" Naruto called out as he entered the large training fields. It was the field that Naruto had selfishly allocated for himself and it was perfect for his needs. It was a large clearing with a small river trickling through it. Surrounded by trees, the noises here would be muffled by the foliage and keep snooping visitors away.

"Hey!" One of his shadow clones returned the greeting.

There were whole groups of them there and each was working on a specific aspect of Naruto's training. Five groups of at least ten clones worked on each part of his elemental nature manipulation, using leaves and chakra paper to hone his ability to generate elemental chakra. His natural affinity was wind and it came to him as the easiest to form, however, the Hokage's natural affinity had been earth but that hadn't stopped him from whipping out advanced elemental techniques of each nature in the past. Lightning was his worst at the moment but his earth and water was coming along quite nicely and as long as he didn't care about collateral damage his fire worked beautifully.

Naruto would not be satisfied until he had mastered each and every single affinity just as the Third Hokage had done before him. It really got to him when he considered just how much further he needed to go - especially when the old man would make off-handed comments along the lines of 'you're still learning _this_, why, when I was your age I had already learned _this_ as well as _that._ I guess you're just a slow learner.'

There was one group working on his chakra control and they were contorted into weird poses. One of was hand-standing on the water with one hand while using the other to swirl leaves around his palm. The other was hopping up and down a street while juggling spinning kunai. The last one was holding a spinning orb of chakra in his hand, a screeching noise emanating from the powerful technique that sent shivers down the real Naruto's back. That was probably the ultimate test in chakra control - the **Rasengan** The powerful technique worked by rotating multiple rows of dense chakra in different directions while keeping it contained in a stable sphere in one's hand. Naruto was working on the lethality of the technique, compressing his chakra even denser and trying to spin more and more of the chakra faster and in different directions.

Naruto spied the piles of disposable ramen containers lying on the ground and rolled his eyes. "What a waste," he muttered to himself. He cleaned up the clearing as best he could and began to work on his techniques.

The God of Shinobi was famous for his collaborative techniques. When an average Shinobi could perform a single technique in a few seconds, the Third Hokage was able to weave through multiple techniques, often stopping part-way through one to start another while keeping the different strands of elemental chakra separate from each other within his body _and_ while using empowering his limbs and muscles with chakra. That was the level of proficiency in nature, shape and chakra manipulation and control that Naruto was working towards. Naruto was not at that level yet, although he had a somewhat-bastardised version that produced similar results. It involved working with clones, each who would focus on one specific technique, while Naruto would direct and combine them all together. That only worked because his clones used the same Chakra as he did and even though Naruto was a chakra juggernaut (The Third once said that Naruto had more chakra at his age then _he_ had) even that left him quite fatigued in the end.

"Shadow Clone!" Naruto muttered and with a puff of smoke somebody appeared right next to him. His replica gave him a dry look.

"This is going to hurt," he lamented.

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Get over it," he snapped.

The clone nodded and formed the _ram _sign. From there, Naruto watched as his clone went through a series of hand-seals, his fingers blazing in and out of the signs quicker than the eye could see. He knew what was happening even as the clone did it- form water elemental chakra, compress it, store it in the _tenketsu_ of the upper back where mobility would not be limited, form water elemental chakra, compress and release it into a technique.

"Earth Release: Great Mudslide Technique!" Naruto's clone shouted. The earth before him rumbled and liquefied as Naruto's elemental chakra softened it while his nature manipulation used his chakra to force it forward in an avalanche of mud. Naruto's clone made another sign and the water elemental chakra flowed forward. "Water Release: Raging River Technique!"

The water technique, coming from the small stream trickling into the clearing, combined with the power of the earth technique and produced a devastating current of mud and water. It propelled out from the Shadow Clone and swept into the forest. Saplings and plants were torn from their roots as the mud swept across the great tree trunks. An ideal conclusion to this combination technique would be a fire technique that would turn the mud into a rolling river of blistering tar that would engulf and consume all that it touched.

However, Naruto was having enough trouble with two elemental chakra let alone three. Under the original's eye, the clone suddenly let out a gurgling noise. Bright points appeared all over the clone's body as tenketsu overloaded underneath the strain of the multiple strands of elemental chakra before it exploded in a puff of smoke. Naruto grimaced at the mildly unpleasant memory. Normally the shadow clone technique would _not_ include pain in the memory for the safety of the user but Naruto had altered that part of the technique when he needed to so he could diagnose how and when a technique went wrong.

"Too much chakra," Naruto murmured to himself. "Elemental composition was fine but the _tenketsu _can't handle the strain… I need to disperse the chakra over multiple _tenketsu_." It was much, much harder than it sounded.

Naruto went to make another clone when the tattoo burned on his shoulder. He frowned. The Hokage usually allowed- or rather, insisted on- his training time. It was unusual for a summons this late. He snapped his fingers and his clones obediently dispelled. Naruto felt flashes of memories assault him but he shrugged them off with practised easer. Placing his mask over his face, he disappeared into a body flicker.

He reappeared by the Hokage's side. The old man was standing on the highest level of the Hokage Tower, watching the sun set over the Hokage's Monument. Usually Naruto could get a good read on the Third Hokage but it was with some trepidation that he found himself unable to assess how his leader was feeling. The stone faces on the monument looked as if they held more emotion than Sarutobi did right at that moment.

"Ferret," Sarutobi spoke softly and with the weight of a man who had spent his entire life giving orders and being obeyed. "The First Directive has been breached. I have need of you. Do you accept?"

"Yes," Naruto answered immediately even as his eyes widened with surprise. His white porcelain mask blocked everything as he stood. "How may I serve?"

Sarutobi turned around and Naruto saw the first traces of emotion- a grim hard look that masked something dark that lurked beneath the old man's face. Whatever had happened, it was personal.

"Several minutes ago I was 'assaulted' within this very tower," Sarutobi began. He ignored Naruto's splutter of shock. "The assailant successfully retrieved the Scroll of Forbidden Seals and escaped."

Shit.

"I have confirmed the identity of the attacker." Sarutobi sounded grim. He motioned to the table, where a gleaming sphere of crystal glimmered with chakra. "At this moment, Sarutobi Konohamaru has left the boundaries of the village in possession of the Forbidden Scroll of Seals."

Naruto jerked reflexively and drew a deep breath.

"Confirm identity?" He asked quickly.

"It's been confirmed," Sarutobi said tiredly and for a moment he looked very old and very tired. He moved from the window and took a seat at the table. "It was him, Naruto. What's more, he knew exactly where to find the Scroll and how to bypass the protections."

"With all due respect," Naruto asked carefully. "But how did he subdue you."

"I merely though it was one of his little tricks," Sarutobi admitted with a great sigh. "He threw some smoke bombs, yelled something foolish out. I allowed him to play his game but the smoke lasted longer than usual and by the time it had cleared he was gone- with the scroll."

He turned back to the window.

"This is a result of my foolishness," he said and his voice was hard again.

Naruto said nothing. Konohamaru was the grandson of the Third Hokage and his status allowed him a lot of leeway. However, not even the Hokage could protect him from the outcome of this. The Forbidden Scroll of Seals was an S-ranked secret and stealing it was paramount to High Treason. There would be severe repercussions for all involved: Konohamaru for stealing it and Sarutobi for allowing it to happen.

"However, it is more complicated than that," Sarutobi interrupted Naruto's thought process. "Konohamaru failed his Graduation Exam today. I have reason to suspect that somebody may be using his current emotional state for their own advantage."

"I see," Naruto murmured. His thoughts were conflicted and his emotions barely under control. He was too close to this at the moment so, with a deep breath, he pulled back and hardened his heart. "What are your orders, sir?"

"I have located the boy," Sarutobi straightened and the full force of his intent care baring down on Naruto.

It wasn't a desire to kill. Rather, it was the power of the highest priority order in Konoha and the effect it instilled in those with the Will of Fire.

"You will shadow him until the true culprit appears. Retrieve my Grandson at all costs and destroy the scroll if necessary." Sarutobi met Naruto's eyes from behind his mask. "Do to the culprit as you see fit. You have full operational control, however, the nature of the assignment have been deemed S-ranked and may not be divulged."

Even if Konohamaru had been deceived, he had still committed high treason. Naruto understood immediately. The less who knew- the better. He bowed his head and made his way to the table where a large map of Konoha had been unravelled. Sarutobi gave the coordinates to Konohamaru's position and Naruto stared intently at the map for a few moments. He then pressed his finger on his tattoo.

"Cat," he called out quietly. "Bird."

There was a moment's pause and then two ANBU members arrived with a small puff of smoke, heads immediately bowing as they saw their Hokage. They wore white cloaks over their armour and their porcelain masks bore the discrete signs of seniority. The ANBU Captains of Epsilon and Omega ANBU Combat Platoons stood rigid.

As the Hokage's assistant and the only member of the "Sigma" squad, the Hokage's Personal Guard, Naruto technically held seniority over them- in theory. His commands were most often the commands of the Third Hokage and had to be respected. However, it was very seldom that Naruto interacted with the Captains and only really saw them at the general purpose Division meeting every couple of months. In this situation though, Naruto had full operational control and commanded not only the Captain's but their 25-man platoons.

"Priority Directive #1. I have full operational control," Naruto said quietly. Two emotionless masks shifted and stared at him with greater intensity. "Cat. Your platoon will surround the perimeter of A-4-F to A-5-C. Entry denial." He paused and glanced at the map. "Move out immediately. Dismissed."

Cat disappeared and Boar waited patiently as Naruto studied the map carefully.

"Boar, you'll position your platoon to cover sections G-3-A to G-3-Z," Naruto concluded, tracing his finger across the map. "Deny entry and detain those attempting to exit. I will be within that zone shadowing the target. Backup may be required. Go!"

Boar nodded and disappeared, leaving Naruto and Sarutobi alone in the room. Once he was gone, Naruto gazed at Sarutobi. The Third Hokage nodded once, approving Naruto's plans, and the young ANBU let out a quiet sigh of relief.

This was the first time he had ever had full operational control over such an urgent mission. He had been present over dozens, if not hundreds, of mission briefings and had watched as he stood loyally by the Hokage's side as the ANBU captains and Jonin Commander had talked in short terse words over whatever mission they were planning. Even the ANBU Commander had interjected at one point, the enigmatic figure saying three words that, in hindsight, had entirely changed the outcome of the mission. Naruto was just hoping some of that had sunk in. It might have been a bit of an overkill to drag out a two out of the six ANBU Combat Platoons but Naruto wasn't taking any chances with such a dangerous S-ranked artefact on the loose.

"The mission has commenced," Naruto told his Hokage quietly. He paused. "I will bring him home."

A second later, the Third Hokage was alone.

* * *

><p>The sun had fully set by the time Naruto had arrived on the outskirts of the Village. Many Shinobi would be disadvantaged or even crippled by the lack of visible light. However, the ANBU had two powerful accessories to help them with night-time operations. The first was their cloak. Embedded with many different seals, an ANBU's cloak when combined with their armour was able to deflect shuriken, dull the blows of a thrust kunai and even dent the blade of a sword swing. The cloak was water resistant, fireproofed and mud and dirt simply slid off of it. It was treated and woven in a way that made it extremely resistant to tears and burns and when kept out of the light, the cloak seemed to fade into the darkness until Shinobi and shadows were one.<p>

The second was the ANBU mask. Many of the white porcelain masks didn't even have eyeholes but it was no deterrent or disadvantage to the ANBU wearing them. They were specifically crafted for each individual Shinobi, moulded perfectly onto their faces for a seamless fit. When wearing it, one did not feel the weight of it at all. Ingenious seals, dating back to the era of the First Hokage, allowed the user to see through the solid plate as if it weren't there. The mask filtered out most poisons in the air while still allowing the Shinobi to use his or her nose to sniff out enemies- although the mask would automatically filter everything out if an unidentified and especially pervasive poison was detected.

The ANBU had learnt this the hard way from the Second Shinobi War against the Village Hidden in Sand.

In a very similar way to the cloak, the mask kept dirt and sand out away from the face and it was impossible to block or impair the user's vision. Even the effects of flashbangs were diluted; retina-scorching light merely became irritating. The opposite could also hold true and the mask allowed ANBU operating in night-time to see more accurately. There was a rumour that Konoha's Research and Development Department were trying to come up with a way of attuning the masks to be able to see the 'heat' of living organisms- but so far nothing had come of it.

Beneath his mask and hidden in the shadows, Naruto silently watched from a large tree branch as Konohamaru poured over the Forbidden Scroll of Seals. His chakra supressed as best he could, Naruto controlled his breathing and remained motionless- ignoring the large part of him that wanted to storm down into the small clearing and whack the stupid brat over the head. His feelings were only slightly abated as he took in the young boys pure desperation, Konohamaru trying desperately to master one of the techniques in the Scroll. Naruto kept a very careful eye on the boy- the techniques were forbidden for a reason- but so far the brown-haired child hadn't even come close to mastering one.

Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out.

After twenty minutes, a motionless Naruto was beginning to get impatient. He had detected no other presence within distance and hadn't seen any signal flares go up at the various choke points he had assigned the two ANBU platoons at. There was no sign of the unknown mastermind- wait! Naruto's eyes darted to the left but he didn't move his head as he detected the slight vibration of movement. Somebody was pushing through the undergrowth, plants rustling loudly as this person didn't even attempt to hide. Naruto waited and with a twitch of his fingers the spring-loaded mechanism in his right cloak sleeve placed a kunai into his hand.

Who was it?

The figure burst into the clearing and Naruto tensed, ready to move in. Some part of him was surprised at the identity of the man as Umino Iruka, Konohamaru's teacher, glared down at the surprised-looking boy.

"You!" He roared. "What have you done?"

Naruto paused.

"H-Hey!" Konohamaru waved at Iruka nervously. "You're too early! I haven't learnt a technique yet! Give me some more time, please!"

"More time?" Iruka roared. He lunged forward and snatched the scroll out of Konohamaru's hands. "You shouldn't even be looking at this, you idiot! Do you want to kill yourself?"

Naruto frowned. Despite his anger, he could see and feel the concern and worry in the scarred chunins voice. What was going on here?"

"But…the test!" Konohamaru protested. He reached for the scroll. "I haven't finished the test yet?"

"What test?" Iruka unknowingly echoed Naruto's question.

"The test Mizuki-sensei gave me!" Konohamaru said quietly. He bowed his head. "He said that it was a shame that a descendent of the Third Hokage could fail their graduation test. He said that there was an secret test, where you passed if you could prove that you were a Shinobi! I had to steal this scroll and learn a technique- but they're too hard!"

Iruka was staring at Konohamaru with a strange look on his face. "But," he said quietly. "It was Mizuki who told me that you had stolen the Scroll and told me where you had ran off to..." he trailed off as it became clear.

Naruto would have intervened right there and then but he was taken completely by surprise as something flashed in the corner of his eye. He moved his head just in time as kunai pierced the trunk behind him. He didn't dodge the next set as they slammed into his chest, three blades thrown with unnerving accuracy at his vital points. The cloak and armour absorbed most of the blow but Naruto heard a crack and grunted in pain. An instant later, wires wrapped around his chest and arms, binding and trapping him to the trunk of the tree. Something shifted in the darkness and two gleaming windmill shurikens came spinning at him.

One was set to sever his head. The other exploded and a shower of deadly debris rained down on the cloaked figure bound to the tree. There was a blur of movement as Naruto dropped from underneath his cloak, leaving it still bound to the tree. He felt a streak of white-hot pain slash at his face and felt thuds against the back of his armour as he dropped to the ground and leapt forward.

"Get down!" Naruto shouted, flickering over to the surprised Iruka and Konohamaru, who had only just looked up. Between the second-short ambush and his escape, he had distinctly heard sizzling.

He threw himself over Konohamaru just as the tree he had been hiding in exploded in a great ball of fire. The ground roared and shuddered, the shockwave disorientating and throwing Naruto off. It only cost him seconds, but seconds was all that the mysterious assailant needed. He rolled to his feet, a kunai in his hand, prepared to defend from a second attack.

He had no need.

Iruka stood in front of the two boys, arms outstretched as multiple Kunai littering his body. Naruto observed him clinically- the armour had blocked most of the damage and no vital points had been hit.

"Mizuki!" Iruka growled. "Come out!"

There was laughter from the trees and a figure appeared on a tree branch further up from the burning remains where Naruto had been standing. The man was dressed in a Chunin vest and had silver hair and cold blue eyes.

"Iruka, this really doesn't concern you," he said, idly spinning a kunai in his hand. He only had eyes for Naruto, however, and watched him keenly as the young ANBU stood up. "All I want is the scroll and the kid and I'll go. There's no need to die over this."

"You traitor!" Iruka breathed.

"Mizuki," Naruto called out, even as he unwrapped the bandage strapped round his leg and began binding his shoulder. His armour had been cracked and dented but it had held up but the edge of his mask had shattered and there was something warm and sticky dripping down his cheek. "There are four ANBU patrols and the Third Hokage surrounding the area. You will not escape. Surrender and you will be spared."

"You know, I think I'll take my chances," Mizuki said with a grin that told Naruto that he was entirely too confident. "I'm a smart guy, I'll find a way out."

He already had a way out, Naruto realised abruptly. He reached for his flares only to pause- they had been stashed away in his robe which, if it hadn't been turned to ashes by now, was surrounded by a blazing fire. ANBU equipment was tough- but not tough enough to come out of ground-zero of detonating Grade 1 explosive notes.

"You're not that smart," Naruto remarked dryly and he snapped his fingers. Shadow Clones that had been observing from other trees launched themselves at the traitor, who actually looked surprise as he jumped away from tree.

As Mizuki and the Shadow Clones engaged in hand-to-hand combat, Naruto whirled around to Iruka and Konohamaru.

"Iruka," Naruto called. "Can you move?"

"Yes!" Iruka gritted out between clenched teeth.

"I'm giving you a priority S-ranked mission!" Naruto commanded. "You are to take the scroll and Konohamaru and leave the area. Move 4 clicks west and you'll find reinforcements. Understand?"

Iruka nodded as Konohamaru looked on tearfully. Three loud puffs of smoke filled the clearing as Mizuki dispelled the three of the four clones.

"Naruto…" the young boy sobbed. A moment later, Iruka had bundled both him and the clone up and quickly fled the area.

Naruto turned to Mizuki as he finished off the last shadow clone and analysed. The target had shown impressive close-combat capabilities. His stealth was high- although it was likely he had been waiting before Naruto had arrived and saw where the young ANBU had hidden. Weapon skills high. Ninjutsu unknown. Genjutsu unknown but possible adequate considering he had crept up on Naruto.

"I'll catch them!" Mizuki snarled as he whirled around to face Naruto.

Naruto gave him a cold glance and his emotionless white mask turned to face the traitor. "No, you won't," was all he said.

He launched at Mizuki at great speeds and enjoyed the brief look of surprise in the older man's eyes. Naruto's taijutsu depended on great speed and integration with weaponry to deal damage. As a twelve year old, he was too small and lacked the bulk of experienced close-combat fighters. His speed, however, was what allowed him to go toe-to-toe with bigger and stronger opponents.

Dodge. Dodge. Jump. Dodge. Feint left, strike with kunai on the right. Duck kick, jump back from follow-up. Body-Flicker behind, avoid reflexive punch. Stab. Parry blow. Redirect punch. Slash at tendons. Kick at knee. Stab. Reach into pouch. Jump to avoid low-house kick. Throw Shuriken. Lunge with stab. Parry blow. Pull back on wires to bring shuriken back. Replacement!

Both Naruto and Mizuki used the replacement technique as a series of shurikens punctured the silver-haired chunins back at the same time Mizuki landed a powerful kick underneath Naruto's chin.

A windmill shuriken was flying from the shadows as Naruto reappeared on the ground. The ANBU let his chakra flare, feeling it slam down on the entire clearing, and weaved his hand seals. _Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!_ A roaring wave of wind slammed into the shuriken and sent it spiralling into the air as the tree branches rustled. A second later, the ground grumbled and a series of large rocky spikes shot up and slammed Naruto in the chest. He gurgled as Mizuki jumped up from underneath the ground and shoved a kunai into the ANBU's mask with a loud metallic clang.

"Gotcha!" the traitor grinned maliciously. He paused and narrowed his eyes. "Wait…"

The sound of metal whistling through the air made him jump back and the _henge_ on the windmill shuriken that Naruto had replaced himself with disappeared. Reappearing in the air, Naruto launched a series of Kunai at Mizuki and blazed through a set of hand-seals.

_Fire Release: Soaring Flame Bullets!_

Naruto felt his chest swell as chakra burst from the _tenketsu_ in his throat and upper mouth. Fire elemental chakra poured from the points and Naruto manipulated the shape of the chakra to take form of a volley of blazing streaks of fire. They crashed to the ground, engulfing Mizuki and the windmill shuriken in flames. Naruto narrowed his eyes as he dropped gracefully to the ground and crouched there. He flipped through another series of hand-seals and pressed his hands to the ground.

_Lightning Release: Electromagnetic Murder!_

From his hand came a furious discharge of surging bolts of lightning. They tore through the ground, tearing apart the earth and soil. There was a strangled yell as Naruto pumped his chakra into the ground and a flash of movement jumped up away from him. Mizuki leapt from the ground, his armour in pieces and holding his arm, and ducked behind a tree as Naruto lifted his hands and sent waves of cascading lightning after him.

"You won't win!" Mizuki yelled desperately as Naruto dispelled the technique, lowering his hands. "I didn't want to have to use this so soon but I can't let you win!"

Naruto felt the ground shifting again and, chakra pumping into his feet, he jumped gracefully away, landing on the tree branch of a nearby tree. The earlier fire techniques had dissipated as the chakra within it was burned up but the acrid smell of smoke filled the air, blocked only partially by his mask.

"_Forbidden Technique!"_ Mizuki cried out. "_Animal Cursed Seal of Heaven!"_

Naruto crouched, watching the tree where Mizuki had hid warily. He started as something boomed and before his astonished eyes the tree trunk shattered and buckled. With a loud groan, the top of the tree came crashing down and slammed into the ground. The tree Naruto was standing on creaked and groaned but otherwise remained still as Mizuki appeared from behind the tree.

'_What was that?'_ Naruto thought.

Where Mizuki had once stood there was now a monster- or something that looked a lot like it. A muscle-bound behemoth of a _thing_ stood there, flexing its hands in marvel. It was bipedal, covered in orange fur with thick black stripes adorning its hide. A mane of whitish-silvery hair covered its ears and draped down over its face, where two murderous blue eyes glinted.

"Mizuki?" Naruto breathed.

"This is it!" Mizuki howled. He slammed a fist into the palm of his large clawed hand. "This is the power I wanted! Thank you, my lord! You have delivered exactly what you promised!"

He turned his ferocious gaze on Naruto and the muscles in his new thick thighs tensed. In a sudden burst of speed, he had cleared the distance between Naruto and himself in a flash, his fist cocked back. Naruto flinched at the sudden speed and narrowly sidestepped the first punch. His leg came up instinctively and he shifted his balance, thrusting his knee into the exposed behemoths chest. Mizuki roared and Naruto winced. The ANBU jumped back to avoid a swipe of the claws and disappeared in a whirlwind of smoke and leaves.

He reappeared some distance away, his knee throbbing with pain. His hand came up and with a puff of smoke two-dozen shadow clones appeared.

"Go!" Naruto ordered and they obeyed, launching themselves from behind the tree and moving to engage the new and improved traitor.

He created two more clones and together they weaved a series of hand seals, each one ending on a different sign. A series of loud pops echoed through the forest as the beastlike Mizuki had no trouble dispelling the clones.

"_Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet Technique!"_

"_Earth Release: Seismic Upheaval Technique!"_

"_Wind Release: Wind Cutter Technique!"_

Mizuki, who had just finished off the land shadow clone in hand-to-hand combat, felt the ground rumbling and the trees howling looked up in horror.

The original Naruto poured his elemental chakra and released it from his mouth in a giant stream of fire. He held his hands up as he directed the flames, a third of the torrent burrowing underneath the ground, a third rushing straight ahead and a third spirally into the sky. Fire elemental chakra blended with wind and the fire exploded as blades of wind tore through it. Flame and wind spun together with a high-pitched shriek and the streams of fire in the air and on the ground met to create a wall of flame that encompassed trees and plants, reducing them to ash in mere seconds. Fire and _earth_ elemental chakra also met as the earth technique melded with the fire technique. The ground rumbled and was torn apart as geysers of exploding soil roared up into the heavens, great gouts of fire ripping through rock and stone in seconds.

There was nowhere for Mizuki to run. He made a series of signs and slammed his hands to the ground. _Earth Release: Earth Style Wall!_

The soil beneath his fingers trembled as chakra was poured into it and it rose up and took the form of a muddied wall twice as tall and once as thick as Mizuki. Earth elemental chakra raced over the surface. The wall hardened into thick gleaming stone that flickered from the light of the wall of flame coming towards it. Mizuki leapt up and gripped the side of the walls with the soles of his feet. He slammed his bestial hands on the stone just as the wind-enhanced fire struck the wall. The wall glowed from the pressure and heat of wall of flame and shuddered as the earth around it exploded in pillars of fire and mud. Shrapnel tore at him, cutting into his fur and hardened muscle, and Mizuki howled with pain but he kept his hands on the rock, pouring as much chakra as he could spare into his only defense.

The fire looked as if it would overcome him but after a few moments it abated and the wall held, cracked and trembling but whole.

He was completely unprepared for the four shadow clones that darted from around both sides of the wall and lunged at him. A kunai flashed as Mizuki tensed his muscles and leapt off the wall. The first shadow clone bridged the distance and plunged his blade deep into the beast's knee. The second ignored Mizuki's howl of agony as it stabbed its kunai deep into his torso. The third jumped up above him and grabbed the fourth's arm, pulling with all its might and sending the shadow clone plummeting down to deliver a nasty rib-crushing kick to the airborne Chunin.

Mizuki slammed into the ground with great force and little warning. The earth, churned and baked, seared into his fur and he yelped, rising up on his one good leg and panting as blood dribbled from his mouth. His body so filled with the sensation of pain and burning, he didn't feel the slight vibrations below him until the ground below him cracked and parted as something jumped up from underneath him.

"_Rasengan!" _

A bright whirring orb of spinning chakra caught Mizuki right in the chest. He howled in agony as the chakra spun away, tearing into flesh, muscle and bone. The force of the technique propelled him up into the sky, where the third and last shadow clone was ready for him. With another devastating kick, Mizuki was slammed back into the ground. This time, he didn't get up.

The shadow clones dispersed as Naruto jumped up from the ground. His armour was muddied and blood dripped from the crevice of his mask but underneath his blue eyes was fierce and proud. It was with slight apprehension that Naruto watch the transformed Mizuki start to shrivel up and waste away. In a few minutes, there was only a wasted husk of a man left. The chest rose once, twice, and then stopped moving at all.

* * *

><p>Sometime later, a bandaged and thoroughly debriefed Naruto walked quietly through the Hokage's residence. The Scroll of Forbidden Seals had been secured and Konohamaru had been returned safely to his home. All in all, Naruto was satisfied- if not aching, tired and ready for a good rest. He passed Konohamaru's room in the hallway and paused.<p>

Sarutobi had undoubtedly heard him coming but he didn't move from the doorway, watching Konohamaru peacefully sleep off the night's chaos. Naruto hesitated and then moved forward to step next to the Hokage.

"Is he alright?" Naruto murmured, eying Konohamaru's tear-streaked face.

"He's fine," Sarutobi answered quietly. "A little wiser, perhaps, and most certainly a little jaded but it will be good for him. This is a dangerous business we partake in."

Naruto said nothing but he felt a pang of concern. He knew that the Third Hokage was old but he had never truly seen it until just then. The 'God of Shinobi' looked very old, very tired and very frail. The weight of decades of service bowed his shoulders and hunched his back. There was no hint of the power and strength that Naruto was accustomed to and he hesitated.

"You are dismissed, Naruto," Sarutobi murmured.

"Sir," Naruto acknowledged automatically.

"Naruto," Sarutobi said as the blond ANBU turned to leave. Naruto paused. "Thank you."

Naruto shifted in surprise. The old man did not usually deliver his praise or approval so blatantly. "It's my duty," he said honestly. "And a privilege."

For the one who had rescued Naruto from the hell of loneliness and despair, who had given him the strength needed to protect the village and who have given him a familiar and those to care and protect, this evenings task had been nothing.

Sarutobi turned and managed a smile. "I'll see you in the morning," he murmured and Naruto dipped his head.

The Third Hokage waited until he heard the door to Naruto's room close before he turned back to Konohamaru. He smiled somewhat sadly. "Your son has turned out to be a splendid shinobi, Minato," he mused. "Perhaps that will be enough to earn your forgiveness."

* * *

><p><strong>Directive #1<strong>: _At all times must an ANBU preserve the Will of Fire, ensuring the safety and security of the village of Konoha and her inhabitants, young and old. This supersedes any and all other orders and duties._

* * *

><p><strong>AN:Hey guys. Here's the next chapter- a much longer one that the previous ones. I'm settling into a routine at the moment and getting back into the swing of writing again. The next four chapters after this will cover the events of Naruto Shippuden: Movie 2- Bonds. I've always found that movie to have a really interesting storyline- but I was always so disappointed at how poorly it was executed. Technically, I suppose it's not 'officially' canon but it's close enough. Enjoy.  
><strong>


	5. Chains of Hatred I: The Arrival!

**Chains of Hatred I: **_The Arrival_

* * *

><p>The day following the incident with the Scroll of Forbidden Seals saw a number of interesting changes. ANBU Combat Platoon #5, codenamed "Epsilon Team" had successfully intercepted and secured both the Scroll of Forbidden Seals and Sarutobi Konohamaru. Umino Iruka suffered light wounds during the course of the night but no permanent damage had been done. Uzumaki Naruto, ANBU Agent codenamed 'Ferret' and assigned under "Sigma Team"- the Hokage's Personal Assistant and Guard- also suffered light injuries but as usual they were gone by the morning, superficial enough for his innate stamina and longevity to heal with ease. As the sun rose, the blond-haired ANBU agent found himself standing motionless next to the Third Hokage as the old man a group of elite Jonin sat around a large wooden table, discussing the Shinobi profiles on top. There were eleven seat overall, although one was conspicuously absent.<p>

Naruto was still in a bit of a daze from the morning's intense training. Usually he was up at 0700 hours, where he would wake up the Third Hokage and Konohamaru and get them ready for the following day. Breakfast was usually an interesting affair but for the most part he would succeed. Today, however, he had been slapped in the face with a freezing splash of water at 0500 hours and had woken up to see the God of Shinobi glowering down at him, decked in his full armour-plated combat uniform. Naruto hadn't even had time to mutter and 'eep!' before the old man had grabbed his hand and dragged him to a training area. Wet, cold and quite hungry, Naruto had been forced into one of the most gruelling training sessions that he had participated in to date.

It had been painful.

"And that's that," Sarutobi concluded cheerfully. He puffed on his pipe, his conical hat keeping the full force of the sun's glare out of his eyes as it slowly rose over the Hokage's Monument. "We'll conclude this at a later date."

Naruto was closest to the window where the fresh breeze was somewhat calming him down, although his face still scrunched up into a pout behind his still-damaged mask. That was probably why he saw the burst of movement first. He started, a kunai flipping up from his belt and into his hand in an instant, but a quick burning sensation coming from his tattoo saw him roll his eyes and put it away. A swirl of leaves and a puff of smoke filled the room as the latecomer entered with a dramatic Body-Flicker.

"Kakashi," Sarutobi intoned. He placed an elbow on the table and rested his chin in the palm of his hand. "You're late."

"Sorry," Kakashi drawled, not looking it at the least. The tall, slender man still looked quite similar to the last time Naruto had seen him, with gravity-defying silver hair, a mask that covered half his face and a droopy eye that seemed to radiate laziness. "My usual restaurant was filled with ponies so I had to travel to Bird Country to get my breakfast."

"I see," Sarutobi murmured. "You couldn't have chosen a different restaurant?"

"Oh, no!" Kakashi sounded positively scandalised. "My pancakes need to be cooked in a _very_ specific way."

Sarutobi nodded gravely and Naruto cocked his head, wondering if there was some kind of code being said between the two or if the old man was just playing along. Kakashi's eye flickered to Naruto and the young ANBU saw a quick crinkle as the silver-haired man smiled. Fingers flashed for a second and Naruto grinned and gave a slight wave as Kakashi, practically slouching all the way, made his way around the table and dropped into the empty seat.

"So what are we all talking about?" Kakashi asked cheerfully.

Some of the other Jonin chuckled as Sarutobi sighed.

"We were just wrapping up the Genin team placements," the Third Hokage grumbled. He shifted a few of the papers on his desk.

"Ah," Kakashi said with dawning comprehension. "I assume that I have Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura and Sarutobi Konohamaru then?"

There was an awkward pause at the table. Some of the other Jonin shifted in their seats and none of them dared to look at the Hokage. For the most part, the old man remained still but there was an undercurrent of something dark as he finished sorting his papers and puffed on his pipe.

"Sarutobi Konohamaru did not pass the Graduation Exam," Sarutobi murmured. "Therefore, he is ineligible for Genin team placement. The rules cannot be changed on a mere whim."

"Really?" Kakashi replied quietly. "From what I've heard, didn't Konohamaru play a large part in an _S-rank_ operation last night? Surely Ferret told you, since he was the one who led it." He shrugged carelessly even as the masked ANBU by the Hokage's side shifted at the knowing look in the silver-haired man's eyes. "I would have thought that any Academy Student able to play such a vital role in the defence of the village would need to be inducted into the Shinobi programme so that his talents could be put to use."

Many of the other jonin looked visibly surprised. The Third Hokage heaved a great sigh, briefly closing his eyes, and fixed Kakashi would a stern look.

"I see you've been snooping around again," he grumbled.

"Snooping? Me?" Kakashi laughed it off with a wave of his hand. "I just heard a few things on my breakfast trip to Bird Country this morning." He leant forward in his chair, somehow slouching in a way that made him come off as both lazy and intent. "I'll take Sarutobi Konoharmu as part of my genin team. Don't worry, Hokage-sama, I'll take full responsibility."

The Third Hokage was silent for a few moments before he reached into the pile of scrolls sitting in front of him and opened one up. He picked up the stamp off the table and slammed it down on the scroll with a resounding thump.

"Very well," Sarutobi said gravely. "It's on you, Kakashi."

Kakashi shrugged.

The meeting finished shortly after and the Jonin began to leave the room. Naruto remained motionless, oblivious to the flickered and curious looks that many of the elite Shinobi gave him. His gaze was focussed totally on Kakashi, who remained slouched at the table reading his book. As Sarutobi rose, chatting quietly one of the Jonin, a tall dark-haired woman with striking crimson eyes, Naruto adjusted his mask over his face and walked towards Kakashi. The other Jonin blinked and lowered his book.

"Oh, hello," he said lazily. His one exposed eye stared at him blandly. "How's it been, Naruto?"

"Captain," Naruto greeted stiffly.

"Mah, mah," Kakashi interjected, placing his book back in his green flak jacket. "You probably shouldn't call me that- I'm not a Captain anymore." He cocked his head and brightened. "So tell me- have people been missing me?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head and laughed nervously. "Well…" he trailed off.

Kakashi winced. "That's mean," he said with a pout.

Naruto chuckled. "Actually, Captain," he said, his eyes darting around the room. "I'm wondering if you can do me a favour."

"Oh?" Kakashi's one eye rose in interest. "What could a measly Jonin like me do for a big strong ANBU like yourself?"

There was a pause.

"Save me!" Naruto suddenly wailed and he darted forward, grabbing onto Kakashi's flak jacket. "Help me, Captain! He's gone insane!"

"W-what?" Kakashi spluttered, trying to pull back from Naruto but the boy's grip was too strong.

"The old man!" Naruto moaned, sobbing dramatically into Kakashi's flak jacket. The older man rubbed the back of his head nervously as he glanced around, noticing how many of the exiting Jonin were eying the two of them incredulously. Naruto suddenly pulled back. "He's gone bonkers!" he declared firmly.

"I'm sure it's not that bad," Kakashi mumbled shiftily.

"You have no idea!" Naruto hissed.

Suddenly, the boy yelped as a hand grabbed him by the back of his armour. Kakashi looked up as the Third Hokage, one hand filled with paperwork, grabbed the blond and effortlessly yanked him away from Kakashi. Naruto howled as Sarutobi dragged him across the floor, the elderly man's eyes almost closed with boredom.

"It's time for some more training, Ferret," the Hokage grunted.

"Captain!" Naruto called out desperately before both he and the Hokage disappeared in a flicker of movement.

"What a creepy kid!" Kakashi laughed nervously as the other Jonin gave him some strange looks.

He smiled behind his mask, his eye curving up. He pulled out his little orange book and promptly stuck his head in it and became lost to the world. Still, he felt extraordinarily pleased for some reason. It was a bright sunny day. The sky was blue and there was a nice breeze blowing throughout the village. Seeing Naruto again had been entertaining and had lifted Kakashi's spirits. Perhaps he wouldn't fail this next team after all.

* * *

><p>Weeks later, the Third Hokage had slowly reduced the intense workload and training he had placed on Naruto. As a member of the former Uzumaki clan, which had been known for its stamina and longevity, and the current host to the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, Naruto was used to aches and bruises disappearing quite quickly. With the sheer amount of chakra that was pumped into his chakra circulatory system there wasn't much that could actually keep him down.<p>

The Third Hokage, however, _was _one of those few things and his training left Naruto battered, bruised, exhausted and weepy.

Today had been such a relief. The Third Hokage had allowed him to sleep through the morning and he had awoken at 1000 hours. Konohamaru had even managed to make himself a quick lunch before he attended to his Genin duties _and_ all of the washing had been done and hung up. Naruto wasn't quite sure what was going on and a part of him was quite relieved when he saw that the kitchen looked like an explosive tag had gone off in the middle of the bench. Too much change was not good for him and the thought of either Sarutobi actually becoming a responsible member of the household was just too much to bear.

The afternoon had been just as relaxing. The Hokage had been called away on 'Village business' and he had instead sent Naruto to the Mission Assignment Desk on his behalf. Naruto had enjoyed a rather easy day of sorting through the relaxing and even enjoyable paperwork- enjoyable, at least, when compared to getting your face kicked in by an angry Monkey King. At the moment, Naruto was handing out an assignment to a group of four Chunin, each who nodded respectfully at him before they left.

"Right!" Naruto called out cheerfully as he finished the scroll with a extravagant flourish. He shifted his head and his white-porcelain mask gazed at the Chunin sitting next to him. "Yo, Iruka, when you're done with that would you place it in Outgoing for the mailroom? The client wants the receipt as soon as possible."

"Of course," Iruka said politely as he waded his way through the sheer volume of paperwork that lay on his table. As always, the appointment of new Genin Squads brought in a temporary but substantial increase of business. Clients were always interested in seeing new faces and many of them hired a genin squad just to get a glimpse at the abilities of the new workforce.

Who knows- perhaps one of those Genin would rise up and become Hokage one day?

Naruto was scribbling furiously on a mission request and he outlined exactly why the Village Hidden in Leaves was refusing an assassination request a rather noisy and annoying dog that had been keeping the grumpy old lady up all night. As he finished up, he signed his name and printed underneath it 'ANBU Representative of the Hokage' and passed it to a nearby Chunin whose arms were loaded with scrolls.

"Okay," Naruto sighed. He fiddled with his pen, placing it on the table, as a couple of familiar presences entered the room. "Yo, Captain."

"You know, you're going to get me in trouble for impersonating somebody I'm not", Kakashi said idly, rubbing the back of his head as he put his book away. "You really should stop calling me that."

"And you really should stop reading smut in public," Naruto declared flippantly. "But since we both know that neither of us will change shall we get to business. What kind of mission can I get for Team Kakashi today?"

"Another D-rank mission, please," Kakashi said lazily.

Two of his three Genin sighed at that, their heads dropping low. Naruto grinned at Konohamaru and his teammate, one Haruno Sakura. The pink-haired girl had been the top of the class in academic bookwork and Naruto wouldn't be surprised to see her join Konoha's Communication or Cryptanalysis department one day- she certainly had the brains. Their third teammate was silent but Naruto read past Uchiha Sasuke's stony facade and saw the exasperation lurking in the boy's dark eyes. Naruto felt a little pity for the boy- he had certainly had a tough break and only his appointed psychologist knew what horrors tormented him underneath his pale and emotionless features.

Really, he wished the boy all the luck in the world on his quest to kill his older brother, Uchiha Itachi- and, honestly, he would probably need it to. From what he heard, Itachi was in a whole other league by himself. The last he checked, there was no immediate plans to hunt him down- although ANBU were always on the lookout- but should the chance appear a whole ANBU Combat Platoon was to be allocated for the task. Only Orochimaru had earned such infamy within the ranks of ANBU.

"Hey. Naruto!" Konohamaru demanded. He looked very small next to his two teammates. He thrust out a hand and pointed at the blond ANBU accusingly. "Give us a real mission for once! I'm sick of doing crappy chores and- urk!"

Naruto's hand blurred and a scroll slammed into the young Sarutobi's forehead. Konohamaru grunted as his head flipped backwards and he lifted off his feet by the force of the impact, falling back and sprawling onto the ground with a loud thud. Naruto flickered and stood over him, a fist clenched tightly as he waved in front of the boy's face.

"You have a lot of nerve coming in here and swearing at me after the way you left the kitchen this morning!" Naruto said darkly. Konohamaru whimpered as Naruto took in a deep breath and turned to Kakashi, striding past the gobsmacked Sakura and the somewhat-amused Sasuke.

"Actually, I have an interesting mission for you now," Naruto said, his dark mood vanishing as quickly as it had come. He flicked his foot at the scroll on the floor and it shot up into the air, where Kakashi promptly snatched it up and read it.

"Oh," Kakashi uttered in a surprised voice. He looked a little amused as he gazed at his Genin team. "A C-ranked mission, for us? Ferret, you're so kind."

"You've done your 25 D-ranked missions," Naruto said lazily as he walked back to his table. "This is a simple escort mission to the Land of Waves- a rather cranky bridge builder wants some security while he finishes his bridge. Apparently there have been some disgruntled locals stirring up trouble about it, afraid their jobs will go once it's done."

Konohamaru was sitting up staring wide-eyed at Kakashi as the Jonin considered it thoughtfully. "Hmm," the silver-haired man said. "I dunno…."

"Please, Kakashi-sensei!" Konohamaru begged. His eyes were wide and suspiciously bright.

"We _have_ completed the prerequisites!" Sakura added quietly, looking just as hopeful.

Sasuke folded his arms and huffed under his breath but Naruto saw how the dark-haired boy watched his Jonin Instructor just as eagerly as the other two.

"Well," Kakashi drawled. "I suppose we could give it a try."

Naruto smiled at Konohamaru's scream of happiness. He smile faded as he felt another presence abruptly closing in and he only had a few seconds warning as a black-robed ANBU member appeared in the room. A white porcelain mask with red swirls on the cheeks and a small protruding beak gazed up at him.

"Ferret. The Hokage has summoned you," She intoned. Her spiky-ponytail swished as she turned her head and Naruto caught a glimpse of long thin needles bound within the hair.. "Umino Iruka, you have temporary command of the Mission Assignment Office. Serve your village well."

"I will," a startled Iruka said. "Thank you."

Naruto frowned but stood up from his chair.

"Enjoy your mission, Konohamaru," was all he said before he vanished in a Body Flicker.

* * *

><p>Naruto strode through the bottom recesses of the Hokage's Tower, his mask concealing the sudden nervousness that had struck him. He had visited the ANBU Headquarters before, of course, but he had never been summoned so abruptly from the middle of an assignment before. The bird-masked ANBU escorted Naruto to a set of doors and gestured for him to enter. Inside was a rather bare room. In the middle of the room stood a table, where Sarutobi and a long purple-haired woman hidden behind a dog mask were seated.<p>

"Uzumaki Naruto, registration code 012607, codenamed "Ferret", attached to "Sigma" Squad. Step forward." The Hokage's voice was not hard but there was none of the emotion behind it that Naruto was used to when dealing with the Third Hokage.

Naruto took a step forward and came to attention at the head of the table. Sarutobi didn't even look up at him as he pursued a large manila folder, reading something intently. It was the woman who spoke first and Naruto recognised her as Uzuki Yugao, Captain of ANBU Combat Platoon Gamma. He had worked with her previously in training drills and combat scenarios but other than that knew very little else.

"Uzumaki Naruto," Yugao said quietly. "You are a B-ranked Shinobi operating as "Sigma" squad in personal and work-related duties attactched to the Hokage's Office, correct?"

"Yes, Ma'am," Naruto replied immediately.

"Your Academy Scores were rather average- you almost failed Ninjutsu until the Third Hokage intervened," Yugao said. Her eyes were cool and her voice was flat, as if she had absolutely no opinion on what she was stating. "You were fast-tracked to Chunin at ten in an unprecedented manner- you had no Jonin Instructor of Genin team and worked with Sarutobi Hiruzen on your Shinobi skills. Your promotion came as you were prepared to take on more additional responsibilities in your position as the Hokage's aide. Shortly afterwards, you applied for ANBU and were administered the competency exam by former-captain Hatake Kakashi. You passed and were assigned to Sigma squad, which had remained dormant since the death of the Fourth Hokage. Is this correct?"

"Yes, Ma'am," Naruto responded quietly.

Yugao paused. "Your attendance is exemplary. You have completed 1135 _D-ranked_ missions, 315 _C-ranked_ missions and 42 _B-ranked_ missions. These have come about in your role as the Hokage's Personal Assistant and your performance in the day-to-day duties that the role requires. You are congratulated on your performance."

Naruto almost gaped at the number of D-ranked missions but it did make sense when he thought about it. The sheer amount of chores and housework that he performed at the Hokage's residence was staggering and he supposed each one did add up. The C-ranked missions were probably related to his work as a messenger and general aide in the various departments of Konoha- today's work at the Mission Assignment Desk would have added to his score.

"However," Yugao cut into his thoughts. "Several weeks ago you were assigned a priority _S-ranked_ assignment. Alone and without backup, you retrieved a stolen artefact, escorted the primary objective to safety and held off an enemy Chunin, whose weapon and Ninjutsu skills were quite highly rated for his rank. During this operation, you showed courage in the face of danger and exemplified all of the directives that the ANBU abide by."

Yugao's eyes flickered to Sarutobi, who nodded, and Naruto could was struck by emotion and could only grin in sheer happiness as the Third Hokage smiled at him proudly.

"Your latest combat tests reveal highly-advanced Ninjutsu skills. You have skill with multiple elemental affinities and have demonstrated advanced abilities in chakra shape manipulation," Yugao continued. "You are well trained in hand-to-hand combat and general weapon skills and your physical and mental abilities far outstrip those in your age group. It is with pride that Konoha recognises your abilities and achievements and promotes you to A-ranked status."

Naruto was grin threatened to split his face wide open and his heart pounded in his chest. Still, a niggle of doubt wormed its way through his euphoria. Was he truly ready to join the ranks of the elite? Compared to many other Jonin, he was still a child flailing away at enemies he couldn't see.

"This does not mean that you have been promoted to Jonin," the Hokage interjected quietly, as if he could read Naruto's thoughts. "Although I believe that that position will be available to you soon there are protocols that need to be followed."

Naruto took a deep breath and calmed himself.

"Starting today, you shall be attached to Gamma Team under the direct command of Uzuki Yugao," Sarutobi continued. He pulled out his pipe and lit it with a flare of chakra. He puffed on it twice and exhaled. "Your next assignment is a routine border patrol around Fire Countries South-Eastern borders."

"Yes, sir!" Naruto acknowledged.

Yugao spoke next. "Komachi!" The bird-masked ANBU member who had escorted him stepped into the room. "This is Uzumaki Naruto, codenamed 'Ferret'. He has just transferred in from Sigma Squad and will replace Crane on the next deployment. He will be attached to your squad and is under your direct command."

"Yes, Ma'am!" the bird-masked ANBU, Komachi, said. She turned to Naruto. "Ferret. You will gather your supplies and meet us in room 201 for briefing. Go!"

Naruto nodded and disappeared with a flash of movement.

* * *

><p>The Village Hidden in Leaves was truly one of, if not the most, powerful Shinobi village in the world. Boasting of an enormous population of trained Shinobi, Konoha's economy was unrivalled by any other village or country. Part of that lay in its military doctrine. During the First Shinobi war and after the death of the Second Hokage the Third Hokage had been appointed as Command and Chief of all military operations within Fire Country and coordinated with Shinobi and the Fire Lord's Samurai. While the First War certainly ended to Konoha's advantage a truer description of the aftermath would be that nobody had won. Countries were in shambles. Entire cities had been destroyed or abandoned and a large portion of the skilled workforce had been killed.<p>

Konoha had been hit especially hard. Over half of its trained Shinobi population had been killed during the war, amounting to four-thousand casualties. For a Village whose primary trade was based on mercenary work, the situation was unacceptable. That was when Konoha's doctrine had changed. Instead of a large standing army ready to fight conflicts, Konoha would create a small and elite force of Shinobi whose primary purpose was the defence and security of the Village and Fire Country. The First Shinobi War had shown that the only thing that happened when two large armies met was death and destruction. Shinobi's were gifted with the use of chakra and could perform unimaginable feats but were just as human as everybody else and could not function without supplies. Furthermore, those unimaginable feats allowed small groups of highly trained men and women to intercept and destroy enemy supply caravans with ease.

The Third Hokage had seen the end result and had analysed the military strategies that had been implemented by all sides during the war. He had concluded that the economic repercussions of losing a large portion of a working Shinobi population were too severe. It was a little known fact that Konoha had almost starved during the immediate aftermath of the First War and only the continued patronage of loyal customers saw Konoha rebuild and restructure. The Chunin workforce, numbered in the thousands, was strong but too valuable to waste on general military operations. Of course, that didn't mean that they were too invaluable to be used. Rather, during the next two wars the largest percentage of the Shinobi population saw themselves rostered on and off the different fields of battle.

The ANBU, however, stayed in battle from the very first moment blood was spilled right until the last remains of ink dried on the peace treaty. Their skill, mobility and ability to adapt to different strategies allowed them to strike deep in the heart of their enemies, causing massive damage with minimal casualties. This doctrine was proved to be sound during the Second Shinobi War, where the Third Hokage implemented a defensive strategy that saw the majority of the Shinobi holding at the border while elite teams of ANBU were sent into other lands and countries, destroying and decimating enemy supply lines and landing critical hits on enemy war efforts- to the point that by the time the army had reached Konoha's borders they were in no condition to face against Konoha's field of fresh and readied army. Konoha left the war with in almost-perfect condition. Casualties had been light, infrastructure within Fire Country mostly undamaged and coffers had been full as missions had been continued to be taken up.

The other villages had learned. The Third Shinobi War saw the ANBU meet their counterparts but, being the older of the elite groups, they were generally more experienced and adept at what they did.

In the current peacetime, there were six combat-ready ANBU Platoons with twenty-five Shinobi in each platoon. There were an additional four smaller Reconnaissance Squads, two Hunter Teams, a Medical Crew and a Communications Department- each group having a more specialised area of expertise for operations in and around Fire Country. At any one time, two of the six ANBU Platoons would be assigned to general border patrol. Many towns and cities hired small teams of Chunin for policing and other duties and they covered the main roads in and out of Fire Country. The burden of guarding the wilderness borders general fell upon the ANBU Platoons, who would split into small five-man squads and be allocated to different areas.

Uzumaki Naruto had joined one of those squads and it was not as exciting as he had expected an A-ranked mission to be.

* * *

><p>"87, 88, 89…" Naruto chanted.<p>

He was sitting on a large barrel nestled against the wall of a small wooden shack deep within the wilderness, his legs swinging out from underneath. He was watching with a snicker as one of his fellow ANBU members, a man by the name of Towa, grunted as he pulled himself up and above the frame of the doorway by the tips of his fingers of his left hand. Towa had to have been in his early twenties and wore his hair in a brown spiky ponytail. His mask was- well, Towa said it was a wolf but Naruto was having a hard time picturing it with the little pink swirls decorating the side of the mask.

"99, 100!" Naruto finished and let out loud cheer as Towa fell to the ground, panting loudly. He jumped off the barrel and lent Towa a hand, which the other man gratefully took. "You did it, and with no chakra either!"

"My fingers hurt," Towa muttered as he shook his spiky head. He shook his hand gingerly and winced. "That might hurt in the morning."

"You could always ask Komachi for some acupuncture," Naruto said with a wry grin and snorted when Towa shuddered.

"No thanks," Towa said with a groan. "I've seen what she does to the enemy with those needles and I don't want them anywhere near me."

Naruto nodded briefly at Frog, the large burly ANBU undoubtedly a member of the Akimichi clan. Frog waved back absently but continued focussing on Dog-2, a petite and slender person that the blond ANBU still couldn't tell if they were male or female. Dog-2's body shape and voice were completely androgynous. Frog towered over the other ANBU as the two played cards and made he or she seem small and fragile in comparison. Naruto had seen Dog-2 spar though and knew that they only 'seemed' small. Without a doubt, Dog-2 was the most_ vicious_ hand to hand fighter he had ever seen, going for all the weak points and soft spots without mercy.

"Yo, Squad Captain!" Towa called up to the roof of the hut. "I think it's time to swap shifts."

Komachi nodded and stood up from her position. Technically, the whole squad was on R&R shift after completing their 48-hour patrol along the South-Eastern border, however, protocol dictated that one member of each squad remain on watch-duty while the rest took their 10 hours rest and got ready for the next patrol. It was gruelling, hard and absolutely exhausting. After spending four shifts with his squad, Naruto couldn't have asked for anything else.

"You're on from now until 1200 hours," Komachi said. Her head cocked and she leaned forward. "Now, did you want me to look at those poor, poor fingers of yours?"

Towa jerked and Naruto chuckled. Komachi leaned back with a satisfied air around her.

"Shut up," he muttered. He was about to say something else when Komachi stilled and quickly raised a hand.

Naruto tensed and fell into combat position. Frog and Dog-2 joined them as Komachi scanned the nearby forests. She made a series of quick signs with her hands, ANBU code quick and to the point._ Incoming- twelve_.

The five ANBU blurred and moved into position around the small clearing, each picking a vantage point that would allow them to suppress an enemy's advance at carefully designed choke-points. His heart was beating furiously and he flexed his muscles, increasing his blood flow and peering carefully into the brightly-lit forest. He waited for what seemed like an eternity, unmoving and hidden amongst some rocks. Sweat trickled down his face but was almost instantly absorbed by his mask. He felt the spring-loader in the sleeve of his cloak bump against his skin, ready to drop the sharp blade into his hand at a moment's notice. Nearby, he absently noticed Towa placing his hand on the ground as he tried to sense vibrations or movement from underneath.

The twelve-year old boy waited. His mind was clear and his hand was steady as he prepared to enter his first life-and-death battle.

It did not go the way the ANBU wanted.

A series of sharp high-pitching whistling noises filled the air and something small and round literally plopped onto the ground less than a meter away from Naruto. For a split-second, he stared at the small led ball- no larger than throwing ball with a crimson tag wrapped around it, the strange squiggly _Fuinjutsu_ staring back at him. A moment later, the ball exploded with a deafening roar of fire and the man-sized field of rocks where Naruto had been standing was blown apart. The ground shuddered and soil and rock was thrown up into the air.

Naruto reappeared on the roof of the cabin and jerked his head up, dirt and soot flowing off his robes. Appearing from the very top of the massive trees that littered Fire Country was the enemy. They were no more than a series of black shapes that dotted the clear blue sky, gliding towards them at great speed. Tiny little dots fell from them as they dove into the clearing and half-a-dozen explosions rocked the clearing as the ANBU Squad was forced from hiding. Naruto weaved some signs but the closest of the enemy raised something at him. The sun in his eyes, Naruto didn't take the chance and immediately jumped off the roof. A second later, a dozen kunai slammed into where he had been standing, punching through the wooden boards with ease.

He landed on the ground and his kunai appeared in his hand. Something whistled in the air and Naruto turned and blocked, sparks appearing as he deflected a series of kunai that burst from the trees and into the clearing. His breathing was harsh but his mind was curiously clear as he blocked the last of the sharp blades. The ground shuddered again as more explosions went off and metal clanged on metal in the distance as his fellow squad members moved to engage the enemy. Naruto would do the same.

_Fire Release: Great Wave of Flame!_ Naruto reared his head back and warmth blazed from his throat as he spat a searing wave of heat in front of him. It surged past the trees and the leaves and grass instantly caught fire as great plumes of smoke began to rise through the air. A set of shuriken slipped into his hand and he clenched it as he formed the _ram_ sign, stamping one foot on the ground. A wall of earth rose up behind him, the hasty earth construct intercepting a series of whistling kunai that would have slammed into his back. Naruto kept his eyes trained on the fire blazing in the forest as he levelled his shuriken. Something blurred as the ambusher escaped from the flames and the blond tracked it, waiting and waiting and - now!

_Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!_ The set of shuriken spun forward and glowed green. Suddenly there were dozens of them and they rained forward, slamming into the figure. Metal sparked on metal as the figure somehow twisted in the air but whoever it was had been struck and they dove to the ground. Naruto channelled chakra into his legs and darted forward just as an explosive sphere was hurled at his location, which disappeared into a ball of rising fire.

A kunai slipped into his hand as he converged on the enemy Shinobi. As he got closer, he finally got a good look at the attackers. They were dressed in purple flak-jackets and light-grey tunics, their heads covered with a hood and their eyes hidden behind goggles. A headband was strapped around their heads, the symbol unknown to Naruto. The strangest part about them was the large yellow contraption strapped to their backs, yellow armoured plates covering from their necks down to their legs and across to cover their arms. The enemy in front of him seemed to be struggling as he gripped the large contraption clumsily and was unprepared for Naruto as he appeared before him, a kunai swinging up to deliver a lethal blow.

He was intercepted by another enemy Shinobi, the man's goggles gleaming as he swooped down and swung something at Naruto. Naruto ducked and paused in his charge. He crouched and channelled chakra in his feet as the Shinobi hovering in front of him held a squat rectangular object at him. He jumped back just as there was a strange clicking noise and a kunai flew past him. The object clicked again and again and Naruto desperately swung his kunai through the air, batting away countless kunai as the strange machine shot them at him again and again. He swivelled his head- one streaked close enough to cut hair- and grunted when two slide past his guard and slammed into his cloak. His armour saved him as he landed on the ground, retreating from the furious barrage.

_Shadow Clone Technique!_ A single shadow clone formed around him and together they formed seals. A moment later, one of them slammed his hands on the ground. _Earth Release: Earth Flow River!_ The ground underneath that Naruto's fingers trembled and liquefied as the elemental chakra poured into it while a huge surge of chakra saw a rising river of mud surge towards the two enemies. The other Naruto inhaled and formed the _tiger_ seal. _Fire Release: Blazing River! _Fire spewed from his mouth and the wave of mud and soil cooked and burned into as a wave of black-glowing tar swept forward.

The second Shinobi grabbed his comrade's hand and tried to rise above the dual-elemental technique into the sky but the contraption on his back groaned and Naruto watched as his wave of fiery soil engulfed the first Shinobi. His heart clenched at the terrible screams that the man emitted and he could taste blood in his mouth. His moment of self-reflection didn't last long as the second Shinobi, screaming something incomprehensible at him, hurled an explosive sphere at him. Naruto formed a sign just as the sphere exploded and replaced with the splintered remains of the barrel he had been sitting on earlier, drawing back closer to the rest of the squad.

The enemy had taken them truly by surprise. Nobody had been expecting such a devastating aerial assault and the technology and weapons that the enemy Shinobi were wielding were truly fearsome. The launchers in their hands spewed out dozens of kunai every few seconds and the explosives they hurled were extremely potent, sending soil and debris zipping through the air. Naruto was in a bit of a daze as his reflexes took over, dodging and deflecting kunai as he weaved in and out of the battlefield. Nearby, he saw Dog-2 surrounded by many of the enemy, the petite close-combat Shinobi unable to get into range to use, while Komachi and Towa were back to back, the squad captain using senbon attached to ninja wire to create an almost-impenetrable defence while the latter used wind techniques to cover her back. A Flier soared away from Frog as the man's arm expanded to incredible lengths, reaching through the air and catching the squirming enemy in his meaty fist. With a loud roar, the Akimichi brought his hands down and crushed the Shinobi against the tree.

In a twelve on five fight, they were already two ahead.

It wasn't to last long. Naruto weaved a series of signs as he ducked underneath a blazing trail of Kunai and slashed the air with his hand. _Wind Release: Wind Blade! _An almost-invisible blade of sharpened elemental chakra shot through the sky and struck an enemy Shinobi head on. To Naruto's horror, the wind blade slammed into the contraption on the enemy's back and broke off into two, a large slice of wind rushing over the other man's head and a small blade going underneath. He jumped back, shuriken whirring through the air as a _Shuriken Shadow Clone_ technique forced three of the Fliers to veer off and away. He was about to follow it up when an explosion rocked the ground and Naruto was forced away from the searing heat. He landed nimbly and looked up in horror.

Dog-2 was weaving in and out of the attacks of four Fliers as they hovered above the ANBU, shooting dozens of Kunai at him. As a nearby rocked the ground, Dog-2 stumbled and the other Shinobi struck. Kunai rained down upon him and Dog-2 fumbled, parrying and blocking. Two streaked past the defences and slammed into his shoulder- he stumbled and another hit him in the thigh. Dog-2 staggered and one of the Fliers dove down at great speeds. He spiralled past Dog-2 and spun around, hand reaching up to grab something from the contraption on his back. With a roar that went unheard on the battlefield, he swung a gleaming blade and caught Dog-2 right in the face. The mask shattered and the ANBU collapsed in a crumpled heap.

_Lightning Release! Static Pulse Shot!_ Naruto weaved through a series of signs and held up his left hand. Elemental chakra flared and crackled into existence on the palm of his hand. He swiped at it with his right hand and a bolt of crackling blue and purple lightning lanced forward with the boom of thunder. The Flier, just finishing his sword movement, was struck and went hurtling through the air in a cascading wave of electricity. The Flier righted itself after a few moments and soared off into the sky, apparently unaffected by the powerful technique.

The remaining four ANBU eventually pushed past the enemy and grouped up but they were still trapped in the clearing. Towa used his wind techniques to create currents of wildly whipping wind that circled around them, blowing away the constant downpour of kunai. Komachi used pinpoint accurate senbon needles to intercept explosive spheres, detonating them early as the containers were breached. Frog, his armour cracked and broken, panted behind them, desperately trying to stem the bleeding from his multitude of wounds. That left Naruto as the only one in position to launch an attack- his hands twisted together in the _tiger _sign, he spat out streaks of flame from his mouth, bullets of fire streaking through the air just as fast as the kunai streaked down. But the Fliers were too fast and quick in the air and they merely paused in their attack and soared away. This stoped Towa and Komachi from being overwhelmed but didn't give Naruto the time to pull of one of his deadlier combination techniques.

The ground shuddered underneath the relentless assault as the four ANBU held off the remaining enemy. Towa was beginning to look tired and the wind began to abate. Naruto gathered his formidable chakra and was just about to step in when a dark shadow came over the group. His eyes darted up and widened. A machine, five times bigger than the flying contraptions the enemy Shinobi were using, came to rest directly above them. Three dark figures sat on the golden machine as long white cloth flapped gently behind it and it made a curious humming noise as it floated there. Something clicked and a long slender tube slid out from the bottom of the craft. Naruto could barely make out a small muscular figure bringing his fists together when yellow light began to glow around him. Electricity sparked and the four ANBU paused for an instant as the Fliers flew off.

_Earth Release: Underground Excavation!_ Naruto slammed his hands into the ground and chakra roared around him. The light grew brighter and brighter and a terrible screech filled the air as the ground around the small group gave way and collapsed around them. Earth began to grow overhead as Naruto desperately tried to mould the chakra as fast as he could. There was a sudden flash and a torrent of yellow light flared from above. Naruto, his ears ringing with howling wind and his gloves coated in mud, could only watch as large steam of light slammed down into his Earth technique. The last thing he recalled was a powerful tug and a giant shadow covering him and then all went black.

He awoke moments later, his entire body aching and sore but still in one piece. It was dark and dirt and stone were crushing him, he was struggling to breathe and he began to flail around urgently. His lungs burned, his mouth was dry. Chakra flared through him as he tried _Earth Release: Earth Tunnelling Technique_ but it failed. White spots appeared in his vision and his breathing grew more and more laboured as his struggles started to die away. Suddenly the weight on him was getting lighter and lighter and whatever was crushing him started to shrink. The darkness around his vision receded as painful bright light hit him in the eyes and air rushed into fill the cavity around him. He sucked in a deep breath, then another and another, revelling in the smell of smoke and dirt and blood. He opened his eyes and squirmed, fighting against the rubble around him.

"Ferret!" Somebody hissed and Naruto jerked.

His eyes swung to the left where Towa was crouched in the mud. The other ANBU made the quick signal for _silence_ and Naruto complied. His eyes drifted up towards the deep blue sky, where a flock of birds were passing underneath the clouds- no, wait. With growing dread, Naruto watched as dozens- hundreds- no, at least a thousand, black specks soared overhead, ignoring the splintered and burning remains of the ANBU outpost.

This wasn't just an enemy squad.

This was an army.

An invasion.

Naruto didn't need a map to know where they were going. As the last of the flying contraptions left his view and Towa crawled over to him and helped him up from the mud, he became aware of just what the huge weight on his chest had been. Frog, wounded and bloodied Frog, had shielded them all with his Body Expansion technique and what little remained of the ANBU made Naruto want to gag. His eyes burned as Towa pulled him out of the muck and gore and the two ANBU limped out of the large crater and back onto the forest floor. They collapsed, joining Komachi as she fluttered in and out of consciousness.

"We have to warn them," Naruto murmured after a few moments.

"How?" Towa asked. He sounded tired.

Naruto ignored him and staggered to his feet and pulled off his mask. He wiped a streak of blood across his brow and his hands flew in a series of seals. _Summoning Technique!_ He slammed it down on the groundand a puff of smoke exploded beneath his fingers. When it dissipated, a small brown monkey appeared, blinking cutely as it looked around.

"I need pen and pencil," Naruto muttered. He patted down his vest. "Pen…paper…pen…paper…" His hand came to his utility belt and he suddenly recalled his field map. He whipped it out and laid it on the ground, pinning it underneath a rock. "Right!"

"Here," a soft feminine voice said weakly and Naruto's eyes shot up. Komachi was awake and threw him a red marker.

Naruto snatched it and regarded the map carefully. With trembling hands, he reached up and drew a big red X where the ANBU rest station had been. The words "Lv3. Emergency- aerial attack imminent!" followed suit with the number "~1000" circled. Komachi snatched the marker afterwards and Naruto drew back as she flipped the map around and began sketching down the disposition of the enemy forces. A crude Flier, kunai launcher, explosive sphere and the large bomber were drawn, the squad captain deftly writing down as much as they had learned about the enemy. She finished in less than a minute and folded the map up.

"Wait!" Towa called over from the other side of the clearing. He limped over and handed Naruto a headband. It bore the strange symbol on it, the one that he hadn't recognised. He hadn't even asked the others if they knew where it was from but judging by the look of the other two ANBU he doubted that they knew either.

Towa hesitated and then quietly passed over the two shattered remains of Dog-2 and Frog's masks. The white porcelain was dulled and grimy with soot and mud. Naruto took them all and wrapped the headband around the map and broken mask shards. He bent down and handed it to the monkey, who eyed him far more intelligently than a normal animal would.

"Return to Konoha as quick as you can," Naruto ordered. His hands squeezed into fists. "Get Enma to summon you there if you have to. The Third Hokage must be warned- an invasion is coming!"

The monkey let out a strange purr and disappeared in a plume of smoke. Naruto sighed and part of the terrible weight on his shoulders disappeared. He had done the best he could. Now, they could only wait and hope that the Hokage would get the message in time. For the sake of the village, he could only pray they weren't too late.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: And so begins a 4-chapter ARC on the events of Naruto Shippuden Movie 2: Bonds****. I really liked the idea and concepts behind it but the execution was kind of fishy. I've got the next two chapters done and I'm working on the last. I'm pretty sure that there's nothing that'll need to be changed or edited in this one (plot wise, Knight504 found a lot of grammar problems but I have no doubt I missed some). **

**I've had some thoughts on technique names. Some say they shouldn't be verbalised- and I'll grant them that but I'll still state what one was used. Some say English technique names are hard to read. Well, personally, I find the Japanese equivalent extremely hard to read as well so I'll be sticking with the English version. It lets me create me own names easily as well, so that always helps.**

**Read and Review. Let me know what you think. Enjoy.  
><strong>


	6. Chains of Hatred II: Invasion!

**Chains of Hatred II: Invasion**

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><p>Sarutobi Hiruzen sat behind a desk in the Mission Assignment Office puffing slowly on his pipe. The windows were open and a fresh breeze swept gently into the room. His hat on the table in front of him, the Third Hokage allowed the bright sunny day to wash over him and he enjoyed the low buzz of chatter and the call of birds from the distance. It truly was a marvellous day and he could feel his eyes drooping down. Without a care of his Chunin subordinates, the Hokage closed his eyes and exhaled deeply.<p>

It was a marvellous day.

The office was relatively quiet at this particular time- the early-morning queues had been sorted and taken care of and it was still a few hours before the lunch rush would appear, usually the elderly and less urgent chores that would see Genin Teams scurrying about doing everything from gardening to washing dishes to painting fences. Many of the newly-instated Shinobi were seemingly baffled at the tediousness of the missions but it was good for them, Sarutobi thought. A Shinobi Village served the needs of its clientele and Shinobi would complete whatever missions they were allocated, whether the client wanted their dog walked or a country overthrown.

For the sake of prosperity, Sarutobi would sacrifice the pride of some punk Genin who thought the work was beneath them.

"Yosh! What a splendid day, Gai-sensei!"

"Indeed! Come, Team Gai, let us find a new mission for us to complete!"

Sarutobi felt a twitch developing as the two voices grew louder and louder. He kept his eyes closed as many of the Chunin around him grimaced. Sarutobi liked Gai as a shinobi. He was powerful, strangely charismatic and energetic. He got on well with clients, performed each mission with enthusiasm and dedication and filed his paperwork correctly. There was no doubt that the hand-to-hand combat master was one of the most powerful shinobi on Konoha's roster. None in the Village could best the eccentric Jonin at his art, his _ninjutsu_ was sparse but rare and quite powerful and his _genjutsu_ were surprisingly potent. All in all, Gai had earned his _A-rank _with ease and was one of the few Jonin who continued to climb higher and higher towards _S-rank_ territory.

Yes, Sarutobi liked Gai as a Shinobi. As a person, however, there were few others who could bring about such a powerful headache.

"Ah, Hokage-sama!" Gai boomed out from across the hall. Sarutobi grunted and opened his eyes, looking grumpy. "How are you this fine day?"

The Hokage muttered something inaudible as he yawned, his lethargy leaving him as pure _youth_ flowed through him merely by association with the spandex-wearing bowl-haired man. Bright white teeth gleamed as Gai's Genin Team followed up. The little-Gai was just as headache-inducing as his Jonin Instructor but the Hyuuga appeared resigned by Gai's behaviour and the girl just looked sheepish.

"I am well, Gai," Sarutobi said a little snappily. There went a perfectly good afternoon snooze. "Has your team come for another mission?"

"Indeed we have!" Gai grinned and flashed thumbs up. "We have already weeded Konoha's public gardens in record time!" He paused and glanced around. "Oh. Hokage-sama, where is your youthful aide?"

"Ferret is on an _A-ranked_ mission," Sarutobi replied as he reached for the _D-rank_ mission scroll.

Gai seemed to ponder this and it was the intelligence that flashed in his eyes that was what Sarutobi believed made Gai truly dangerous. Beneath his exuberant and somewhat-annoying personality was the mind of a shinobi who could look underneath the underneath and connect the dots.

"I see!" Lee chimed in. He clenched his fist. "Ferret-kun has truly been blessed with the springtime of youth! I shall train even harder to match his genius!"

"Heh," Sarutobi uttered in amusement.

Perhaps one day Lee would be giving Naruto the same headaches that his Jonin Instructor gave the Third. The Hokage was reading over the _D-ranked_ mission scroll in no particular hurry when a puff of smoke burst from nowhere. Sarutobi saw Gai instantly tense and relax as the summoning technique became clear.

"Oh?" Sarutobi muttered, raising his eyebrows.

A small brown monkey chattered excitedly as it appeared in the room. Ignoring the somewhat-bemused stares of many of the Chunin and clients, it bounded over to the Hokage with a curious lumpy parcel in its hands. Sarutobi took it from the monkey and felt cloth and cold metal in his hand. With a flutter, the cloth unravelled and something white fell to the ground. It clattered there, the sound resounding quite loudly as Sarutobi stared at it grimly.

Pieces of a white porcelain ANBU mask lay there, cracked and smeared with the muck and bloodied grime. Absently, a part of Sarutobi's mind noted the distinct patters and put a name to the shattered remains of the mask- the first one was definitely a piece from Dog-2, a member of Gamma Team's Fourth Squad. The second was too smashed and scorched for him to recognise. They spoke of a tale to Sarutobi. There had been a battle. There were casualties. Naruto was still alive. There was a situation urgent enough that required immediate communication with the Hokage.

All this passed in an instant as Sarutobi turned to the rest of the parcel. The Genin Team looked confused and Lee was just about to speak but Gai's hand shot up and for once the Jonin was silent, his face sombre and serious as he too gazed at the package.

Sarutobi opened up the paper deftly and laid it flat on his table. It was a field map, extending from Fire Country's South-Eastern border. Sarutobi's eyes took in the detail- the large red 'X' drawn over the ANBU rest station, the number circled and underlined in the corner. Konoha had also been circled, arrows pointing at it with a rough estimation of speed. He flipped the map over. There were crude and hurried sketches, quick dot points of vital information had been scrawled down in a rush. His eyes swung to the last object and with steady hands he turned it over.

As soon as he saw the symbol staring back at him defiantly, he understood.

The room froze. The walls trembled and the wooden floorboards creaked as a huge swell of force blanketed the area. The Genin were paralysed, each limb locked in place by the sheer intent behind the chakra. Gai looked deathly serious and the Chunin froze in their duties. Many of the clients looked absolutely petrified. The incredible pressure weighed down on them all but it was not suffocating killing intent that poured forward.

Each one could feel the heavy iron-laden will roar into existence as Sarutobi Hiruzen rose from his chair, the God of Shinobi emerging from his aged counterpart. The Hokage snapped his fingers and two ANBU appeared before him, their heads bowed as they weathered the pure force emanating from their leader.

"I am declaring a Level 3 Emergency!" Sarutobi thundered. "Sounds all alarms! All non-combatants are to evacuate at once! All Shinobi forces are to report to defensive stations immediately! Prepare the ANBU and assemble the Council!" His brown eyes were cold and hard. "We are now at war!"

* * *

><p>At roughly midday, the peaceful tranquility of the Village Hidden in Leaves was broken by a loud wailing siren that tore through the air. Flocks of birds screeched as they burst from the trees and tens of thousands of men and women froze all at once. The siren rose up to an almost head-splitting screech and began to fall. A moment later, the Konoha burst into a flurry of activity as preparation began to take place. A voice began to calmly speak, amplified by a technique that made it echo all over the village as shinobi began to move to their designated stations.<p>

"_Attention: A Level 3 Emergency has been declared. Attention: A Level 3 Emergency has been declared. This is not a drill. I repeat: this is not a drill. All combat personnel are to attend their action stations. All non-combat personnel are to evacuate into their designated safe-zone. Seek immediate assistance if you are unable to evacuate. I repeat, seek immediate assistance if you are unable to evacuate. Attention: a Level 3 Emergency has been declared…"_

The Third Hokage appeared on the top level of the Hokage's Tower and immediately swung his eyes out to his village. The woman's loud calm voice continued to repeat the same instructions and he saw hundreds of Shinobi pouring through the streets and jumping on the roofs, rushing to their various defensive positions. Hoards of milling civilians and non-combatants were scurrying into buildings, seeking the safety of the tunnels and shelters that led them to the mass-evacuation area underneath the Hokage's Monument. Despite the urgency of the situation, Sarutobi felt proud as he saw the men and women under his command following their training and working together.

Two small puffs of smoke appeared in the room as Koharu Utane and Homura Mitokado appeared. They wore a white ornamental cloak but underneath were glimpses of flak-jackets and utility pouches. They were as old as the Third Hokage was yet they two were listed as Jonin on the Shinobi Roster and for good reason.

"Hiruzen," Homura greeted quietly. His voice was sombre as both he and Koharu joined him in observing the Village reactions. "What new crisis threatens us now?"

"Hardly new," Sarutobi replied quietly. He passed Koharu the headband he had received and saw the dawning comprehension in her eyes.

"I see," she said softly. "So it's come to this once more. Sky Country has returned."

"The cycle continues," Homura murmured as he took in the symbol of the Sky Country's Hidden Village. "They, who we destroyed them in the Second Shinobi War, will now try to destroy us."

"They will _try_," Sarutobi said. His voice was as hard as stone. "The Will of Fire is with us. They will not succeed."

The Third Hokage turned around as he felt more and more Shinobi gathered around them. Nara Shikaku joined them looking unnaturally sharp and focussed, the Jonin Commander muttering furiously with a continuous stream of aides as he organised the Village's defences. Four white shapes blurred into the room as the porcelain masks of the ANBU captains appeared. There wasn't even a flicker of movement as the ANBU Commander appeared, his silver mask gleaming in the sunlight. More shinobi appeared, Jonin Squad Leaders and Defence Team Captains.

They assembled before him and waited patiently.

Sarutobi took a deep breath and began. "Earlier this morning an ANBU Rest House was attacked by enemy shinobi," he said quietly. The room was still as the siren blared and the instructions continued to repeat themselves. "They managed to send back vital information regarding the composition and identity of their attackers, as well as their current bearing." He paused. "It was Sky Country," he finished gravely.

His advisors remained still as a ripple of shock spread across those Shinobi older enough to remember the Second Shinobi War.

"Sky Country?" Gai repeated. "I have never heard of such a place."

"You wouldn't have," Nara Shikaku interrupted. The man's eyes were darting round furiously as he began to formulate strategies and make connections. "They were a moderately large group of Shinobi who entered the Second War attempting to overthrow the Five Great Nations. Konoha defeated them forty-years ago." He frowned. "If I recall correctly, Sky Nin used advanced technology to supplement their offensive power. They lacked the resources and knowledge of the Five Great Villages and focussed on small personal weaponry and mobile-platforms."

"Indeed," Sarutobi said solemnly. "This will be an aerial attack on the village."

Hyuuga Hiashi inhaled sharply. "There has not been a direct military attack against the village for quite some time. Barring the attack of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, we have successfully prevented such an occurrence since the First Shinobi War."

"Although an aerial attack explains how the enemy bypassed our border guards," Akimichi Chouza rumbled.

"An aerial attack?" Sarutobi Asuma questioned. He scratched at his chin. "Is such a thing possible?"

"It has never been demonstrated as a legitimate military doctrine," Homura replied. His glasses glinted. "Nonetheless, by the time the sun sets we shall soon see just how effective it is."

"The number of enemy range in the late hundreds, if not a thousand," Sarutobi continued. "Each Sky Nin possesses a device that allows them to fly. They are equipped with advanced weaponry- propelled launchers that are able to throw kunai at incredible speeds and with incredible force and small spheres that can explode with the force of a _Class_ _One_ explosive note. Furthermore, they appear to be in possession of a mobile flying platform that allows them to deliver a devastating attack to an area immediately below it."

The surrounding Shinobi burst into mutters, quietly talking with each other as they digested the news. Nara Shikaku looked thoughtful as he absorbed the new data while the ANBU Commander shifted.

"At present, we have a force of 2128 active Shinobi in the village," the Commander said. His or her voice was monotone and sounded artificial in nature. Nothing could be seen behind the mask. "Approximately 6250 of our armed forces are currently engaged in missions around Fire Country and can be recalled in a matter of days. We have several thousand shinobi deployed on international missions."

"We outnumber them but they are better equipped," Shikaku murmured. "They've also had forty years to gather intelligence and strategize where we have half a day. This will become bothersome."

"Bravo and Epsilon Teams will provide security for Konoha's priority infrastructure," Sarutobi declared and the muttering halted. "Omega Team will be on standby to repel invaders who penetrate past the outer defences! Hunter Teams 'Omicron' and 'Lambda' will target the enemy's mobile platforms. We shall designate these targets as 'Bombers'. The Communication Department will coordinate between local garrison commanders to engage the enemy!"

"And," the ANBU Commander interjected. "Recon Squad 'Kappa' will replace Sigma Squad's priority role and aid in the defence of the Hokage."

The ANBU's voice held no emotion whatsoever and Sarutobi accepted this with a grudging nod.

"Nara Shikaku has full operational control!" He declared firmly. "I shall join the field of battle and hold position here."

Captain's Bird, Boar and Dog exchanged looks. "We protest, Hokage-sama," Dog said quietly.

"Your protest is noted," Sarutobi acknowledged. "However, I will _not_ let my village burn as I cower away in a bunker. At this present time, Nara Shikaku has full control over Konoha's military forces. Should I be killed in action, Protocol-7 will be enacted. Shinobi, remember what you fight for and defend our home. Dismissed!"

Sarutobi turned away from the Council and stared out at the village. He felt his former teammates take his side and smiled grimly, knowing that they too would not be dissuaded. As the chakra presences of ANBU Recon Team Kappa surrounded the, Sarutobi watched the skies and waited for the enemy.

He would not have to wait long.

* * *

><p>Naruto wiped the sweat from his head as he finished tying the bandage around his arm. Several kunai had punctured his cloak. While most had blunted on his armour, one had struck his exposed upper arm and sliced a good chunk of muscle and flesh off. The pristine-white bandages were already beginning to darken with red but the young blond ANBU ignored it as he donned his cloak. He could feel the medical chakra pre-soaked into the bandages settling in his arm as he jumped up and donned his mask.<p>

"I'm all patched up," he called out to his remaining teammates.

Towa looked pleased as he crouched beside Komachi. The Squad Captain had ingested a blood clotting pill and Towa had patched her superficial wounds. A thick bandage was woven around her head, the medical chakra imbued in it rushing into the split scalp and easing the pain in her head. Towa himself had come out of the fight relatively unscathed- but because of that he had been the one to enact ANBU Directive 7.

There was nothing left of Frog and Dog-2- not even ashes.

Despite the relative good health of the surviving members of Squad 4, the mood in the air was grim and tense. The attack had come suddenly and without warning and they had failed to defend their post. The enemy had taken the lives of their comrades and they had been powerless to avenge them. In Naruto's heart burned a terrible ache of deep roaring hatred. The symbol of the enemy haunted him and in a rather detached way he noted that he had never felt as savage and angry as he did right at that particular moment.

It was only the thought of the Third Hokage that allowed him to keep his emotions bottled up. If the information was received by the Hokage in time then the incoming aerial invasion would meet a fully prepared and alert village, thousands of Shinobi ready to defend their precious home with their very lives. That gave Naruto comfort. By surviving, they had dealt a massive blow against the enemy and could very well have saved tens of thousands of lives with the vital intelligence they had sent back.

The rational part of him- the one that Sarutobi had drew out of him with cold logic and brutal truth- knew that the lives of Dog-2 and Frog had been worth the intelligence they had gathered. The emotional part of him just strewed and despised the fact that he could even think that.

Something tugged at the edge of his mind and Naruto instantly focussed. He raised his hand and snapped his fingers. "We have incoming!" He muttered.

Towa twitched in annoyance and his hands blazed a series of seals. _Illusion: Mirage of the Forest!_ A steady field of chakra rose around both he and Komachi, he was staggering to her knees as she gripped a gleaming senbon in her hand. The moment a shinobi entered the shimmering waves of expanding invisible chakra they would be gripped by the illusion and see nothing but trees and swirling leaves.

There was no need.

Naruto felt his ANBU tattoo pulse and held up his hand. The approaching shinobi were ANBU- perhaps it was another squad from Gamma Team. They waited as the Shinobi- three, Naruto concluded as they came closer- leapt into the clearing. They appeared with a flicker of movement right before Naruto- and they were good. If he had blinked, he would have missed them arriving.

"Identify," Naruto commanded. There was no hesitation in his voice.

"Iota Squad, Recon Squad 4 of Konoha's ANBU Division_," _came the soft, almost too-quiet reply of the head of the three Shinobi. "I am Squad Captain Kage. Accompanying me is Crow-3 and Snake-5."

The man lifted his head and Naruto saw a pure-black porcelain mask staring back at him. There were two white dots where the eyes should have been and when combined with the effect of the dark ANBU cloak produced an eerie effect indeed. There seemed to be no end to the darkness in the hood and for a split-second Naruto almost became lost in the two white dots of light as they sucked him in and beyond. Then, with a subtle shake, he dispelled the illusion.

"I am Ferret, Sigma Squad attached to Gamma Team's Fourth Squad," Naruto introduced. He nodded at the two members of the recon squad, who had been standing behind him all along. Behind them was Towa and Komachi, the two combat ANBU lowering their weapons cautiously. "This is Komachi, Squad Captain of Gamma's Fourth Squad, and Towa."

"Status?" Kage asked as he rose from the ground.

Naruto grimaced from behind his mask. "Two dead, one moderate injury," he said. "We were attacked by a group of unknown shinobi. They were able to fly and they wore a gold machine on their backs."

Kage nodded. "Sky Country," he said. His voice seemed naturally soft. "They have attacked up and down the southern border. We saw no signs of the rest of Gamma Team but there was significant battle-damage in many areas. We encountered a group of twelve. I lost three men to them."

Naruto paused for a moment out of respect. "A large group of them flew overhead about twenty-five minutes ago," he informed the other group. "Their bearing put them in line with Konoha."

"Their speed would indicate that they will only be a few moments off their destination," Komachi broke in. Her voice sounded wobbly but she stood firm. "They might already be there."

Snake-5 took a step forward. "Yamanaka Yuuka, codenamed Snake-5," she introduced. Her voice was pleasantly smooth. "I'm the communications and interrogation expert. Is there time to send a message?"

"I sent a summon creature that should have arrived by now," Naruto answered. Snake-5 sighed in obvious relief. "We'll have to trust in our comrades to defend our home."

The ice was broken. As a courtesy, the ANBU took off their masks and observed their comrades faces. Naruto had seen Komachi before, a grey-eyed woman with two light-brown bangs dropping from her head and the rest of her hair tired up in an elaborate senbon-filled bun. Towa a dark-brown haired man with red lines tattooed down his face. Crow-3 turned out to be a member of the Hyuuga clan with short-cropped black hair, pure white eyes and a black seal imprinted on his forehead. Yuuka was a slender and lean blonde girl in her teens with bright blue eyes and smile that made something twist uncomfortable in Naruto's stomach, while Kage was a young man in his early twenties with non-descript looks.

Naruto was so busy analysing them that he missed them analysing him. Crow-3, Hyuuga Daichi, looked impressed and whistled quietly to himself while Yuuka's mouth dropped.

"Aw!" she cooed and reached over to pinch his cheek. "Why, don't you look so cute?"

Naruto swatted her hand away in annoyance. She pulled it back and grinned, placing her hands on her cheeks. "Aren't you a big tough ANBU…" she sang in a babyish voice. Naruto had developed a twitch above his eye as he narrowed them at the pretty girl.

"Yuuka," Kage said tiredly. "Stop poking the Combat-Squad ANBU before he sets you on fire."

"Oh, poohey," Yuuka pouted. She folded her arms. "You're no fun."

Komachi, Towa and Daichi were chatting quietly, each of them clearly relieved to see other Konoha shinobi while Kage and Naruto walked a little further away from the group. The rather bland-looking ANBU turned to Naruto and observed the young boy carefully.

"Have you taken command?" he asked abruptly.

Naruto went to shake his head and paused. "Komachi is still the squad-leader but we'll have to see if her head injury affects her judgement. Until them, I suppose I am."

"I was contemplating taking my squad back to Konoha," Kage said. He gazed off into the distance. "Perhaps we can link up with other shinobi in the surrounding regions and assist with the defence of the village."

Naruto bit his lip. He _definitely_ wanted to go back to the Village as soon as he could. Even now, his stomach clenched as he thought about the incoming danger. Konoha could be under attack right now. He wanted to go, but…

"I think we should stay," Naruto said quietly. "This was a safe-zone for the surrounding patrols. We should regroup with Gamma Team and continue to patrol the border. The air attack might only be the start of an invasion and there'll be nobody left to fight if we leave.

Kage paused. "I had considered that," he admitted. "Very well. We'll stay to assist you."

Naruto shook the man's hand firmly and together they walked back to the group.

* * *

><p>During the founding of the Konoha, the First Hokage and the Senju clan had worked together with Uchiha Madara and the Uchiha clan to design and construct the village. Both clans were powerful and over the course of centuries of warfare had made many enemies, none who were happy at the idea of the two strongest clans in the Elemental Countries allying with each other. The village was designed on the principle that their enemies could- and would- eventually launch an attack to settle old feuds. The Hokage's Office and the vital administrative buildings that would eventually become the Shinobi Academy were tucked away underneath a mountain range. Konoha's hospital was built a little further out from the mountain but still maintained a close distance with the other two areas. Together, these three blocks of land were deemed important strategic assets and in the event of an invasion were to be protected at all costs.<p>

The residential and small industrial areas of Konoha branched out in a circular arc from them, mazes and rows of street designed to form a rather misshapen heap. It wasn't uncommon for alleys to be suddenly blocked in or walls to disappear and form new paths every other week as Konoha's Intelligence Division launched counter-intelligence efforts against attempts at espionage. Surrounding the village were enormous walls which spanned even higher than the tallest building in Konoha. These walls were part of a collaborative project between the Leaf Village and Whirlpool Village. Powerful- and now lost- sealing techniques stopped the application of chakra as an adhesive surface on the outer edge of the wall. Shinobi were unable to climb over them- like everybody else they would have to use the single and easily defensible gate. The walls had only ever been breached twice- once during the devastating First War which saw enemy siege equipment use pure force to break them down and once only twelve years ago when the corrosive and devastating potent chakra of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox proved to be too strong for the walls to repel- right before the Third Hokage and repelled the enormous fox right through it and out of the Village.

With stockpiles of food to last months, the ability to produce new weapons and enormous walls and gates that would resist some of the most powerful techniques known to man, any army attempting to take the Village would walk into a bloodbath. The other Hidden Villages had also been constructed to suit the advantage of those inside and Iwa, Suna, Kiri and Kumo had just equally formidable defences.

Unfortunately, neither the Senju nor the Uchiha had ever once considered the possibility of a large aerial attack- and with good reason. Flight was extremely rare. There were some techniques that could emulate it and a few summoning contracts amongst the clans of birds but these were limited and not applicable for a battalion of shinobi, let alone a division.

Sky Country was the first true and only master of airborne warfare.

Sarutobi watched from his vantage point atop the roof of the Hokage's Tower, his dark eyes peeled at the sky. The traditional robes of the Hokage were gone and he wore and somewhat antiquated but still highly-effective set of plated and mesh armour. His two teammates, Homura and Koharu, stood on his left and right, each contemplating the implications of the battle which was to come.

An ANBU squad surrounded them all, each member crouched down and ready to defend the Hokage with their lives. Below them, the village of Konoha was almost deserted. Jonin Leaders organised platoons of Chunin around designated defence zones while three ANBU Combat Platoons patrolled around Konoha's critical assets, white porcelain masks gleaming in the sun.

"It's a beautiful day to go to war," Koharu murmured almost wistfully. Her voice sounded melancholic. "I'm reminded of the very first battle during the First Shinobi War. It started looking a lot like this."

Homura scoffed. "It's never a good day to go to war in your own home," he disagreed quietly. "For decades we've kept the enemy away from the Village. Now they're simply going to fly over everything we constructed to keep them out."

"They were always dangerous," Koharu admitted. "It's why we destroyed them."

"We killed them and destroyed their home and they hated us," Sarutobi said quietly. The wind on the horizon was cool. "Now, they come to kill us and destroy our home and we will hate them. Perhaps, in another few decades, we shall go and kill them again- a cycle that goes on and on."

Koharu and Homura shared a look behind the Third Hokage's back.

"You sound like your student," Homura said after a few moments. It hadn't sounded like a compliment.

"He can be wise when he chooses to be," Sarutobi replied with a ghost of a smile.

"Wise isn't quite the word I would have used," Koharu murmured under her breath.

Sarutobi chuckled and the tension amongst the group of veterans was broken. Suddenly a bell began to toll on the other side of the village. Sarutobi's head shot up and he squinted against the glare of the sun. Another bell rang and then another and soon the village filled of noise. The Third Hokage could just see them in the sky, a series of black specks high above in the clear sky.

"They come with the sun behind them," Homura observed grimly. "How clever."

"They will have tactics that we cannot predict," Koharu added.

"Put our faith in Shikaku. He has guided our forces well in the past," Sarutobi reminded them. "Look sharp- they come!"

With the sun behind their backs and the visibility of the defenders limited, the first wave of Sky Nin soared towards the Village, numbering in the hundreds at least. They stayed out of range as best they could, weaving around _ninjutsu_ as the first of the Leaf Nin began attack. As they began to glide over the massive imposing walls, small black dots fell from the back of the golden contraptions strapped to their backs. They dropped to the ground and struck at the walls and outer residences. With a sudden tremble, massive gouts of fire detonated from where they lay and explosions rocked through the village. Their bombs dropped, the Sky Nin abruptly dove, swooping past the shattered defences and into the Village. More bombs dropped and flashes of fire and lightning began to fill the sky. Metal crashed against metal as kunai blitzed through the air as the vengeful enemies began their invasion.

Sarutobi saw a tower explode in a shower of wood, the Shinobi inside instantly killed, and drew himself up. The chakra inside of him stirred. It was not as plentiful as it had once been but that did not reflect much. Long before Hoshigaki Kisame was even born there were many who had once compared the God of Shinobi to the Tailed Beasts- a man with enormously large and potent chakra able to lay waste to entire fields of armies. Even in his old age, he far outstripped most of the current generation of shinobi.

"Another wave!" Homura called out.

"I see them," Sarutobi murmured. His chakra flared and the ANBU around him involuntarily stiffened as a heavy and suffocating presence began to crush down all around them. His teammates remained unaffected as they raised their hands in preparation. "We shall repel the enemy's explosives!"

His hands came together and the three old warriors, each in their late sixties, worked in unison. Hands flicked through seals with disgusting ease and chakra melded together seamlessly as they each brought their hands up.

_Wind Release: Vacuum Shockwave Sphere!_

Koharu and Homura supplied much of the elemental chakra as Sarutobi focussed on the shape of the technique. He brought his hands up, gathering enormous quantities of air from all over the village, and the wind howled all around them. The dark cloaks of the ANBU flapped madly as Sarutobi concentrated and slowly dragged his hands down. They moved sluggishly, as if encounter a lot of resistance and at the centre of the village the air rippled and the winds howled with the power of a restrained tornado. With a deep breath, Sarutobi brought his hands down and pulled apart the air in front of him with a loud grunt.

From the middle of the village came a resounding boom as a massive quantity of air was instantly displaced. From the rippling air came a shockwave of high-speed winds that spread around the village in all directions. The second wave of Sky Nin, again numbering over a hundred, buckled and wobbled furiously in the air as they were hit by the outer edge of the shockwave. The explosive spheres they had dropped were lifted up and propelled away from the ground, many exploding in the air and taking a few of the flying attackers with them. For the most part, however, Sarutobi was irritated as he saw most of the enemy shinobis adjust to the new winds with an ease brought on by complete control of their flying machines.

"How annoying," Koharu remarked as she lowered her hands, not even looking winded from her part in the collaborative technique.

"They seem to be able to adjust to wind techniques quite easily," Homura agreed.

"Hokage-sama!" one of the ANBU called out. "I have observed the enemy with my _Byakugan!_ Chakra is flowing over the wings. It's making the air flow over the top faster, allowing them to fly! That is why they can withstand the wind techniques!"

"Understood!" Sarutobi turned his head. "Rat-6! Transmit that data to Command. Wind Techniques are ineffective. Resort to other measures!"

The rat-masked ANBU nodded and placed a finger against his mask. He placed his other palm on the roof, telepathically communicating the information using Yamanaka mind techniques.

At the same time, the same cool female's voice that had given out the evacuation instructions blared out from all sides of the village.

"_You have come here only to die, Sky Nin!" _the woman said solemnly. _"Your comrades will fall be taken away from you. Your blood will be spilled here and your country will gain nothing. Why do you fight? What are you fighting for? Why do you attack? Your ancestors sacrificed their lives so that their descendants may live and you waste it all on this?"_

"Hiruzen! Over the monument!" Homura called, whirling around.

"Incoming!" Koharu declared. Her face tightened. "I count a dozen!"

"ANBU!" Kappa's Squad Captain called out. "Protect the Hokage and the Council!"

Sarutobi spun around and watched as the two squadrons of Sky Nin descended upon them. The ANBU blurred as they rose up. Metal glinted as kunai and shuriken shot through the sky. Some of them exploded in puffs of black and grey, needle-sized splinters shooting through the air in an explosion of flak. Sarutobi crossed his arms over his face and felt several impacts over his armguards, blocking a volley of kunai aimed at his vital points. Koharu stood forward, her hands blurring in a familiar signs, while Homura formed a _tiger_ seal and waited. Unspoken understanding passed between them and Sarutobi formed his own seals.

Koharu finished first. _Illusionary Technique: Bringer of Darkness!_ She spread out her hands and her chakra settled down on the enemy shinobi like a restrictive net. For the Sky Nin, it must have been terrifying as they were suddenly surrounded by swirling darkness- their visions completely suppressed. Some of them instinctively used the _Release_ technique but Koharu was far too adept for her illusions to be shrugged off that easily.

The Sky Nin scattered and slowed, Sarutobi finished next._ Wind Release: Breath of the Sage!_ He flung his hands up and brought them down. With them came a shrieking column of wind that slammed into them from underneath. Some of them cried out in dismay as the wind beneath their wings suddenly moved faster than the wind on top. Effectively, Sarutobi nullified their ability to fly and they began to drop to the ground like bricks.

Homura finished up. _Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique. _He held his hand up to his mouth and a flash of heat and fire exploded from his lips. It expanded and enveloped into a decently-sized sphere of burning flame. Homura followed by raising his hands. _Shinobi Technique: Web of the Red Spider!_ Using complex shape manipulation, a series of chakra strings shot from the tips of his fingers and into the fireball. It broke apart as Homura sent multiple streaks of fire surging through the air and into the now defenceless enemy.

A moment later, the scorched and burning enemies hit the ground with a thud. Sarutobi heaved a sigh and turned to the ANBU.

"Two of you go and make sure they're dead," he ordered. Two of the ANBU nodded and disappeared in a blur of movement.

Sarutobi took the moment's respite to observe the battle. Explosions continued to rock the air as waves upon waves of Sky Nin soared between buildings and dropped their bombs. Kunai flashed through the air as they levelled their launchers and pounded through the windows and walls, aiming at the squads of Shinobi's hiding inside. Smoke was beginning to rise as the village burned. There were several dozen squadrons of Sky Nin attacking the Academy and the Hospital, keeping the ANBU Platoons busy. Flashes of lightning and fire sparked all over the village as Konoha Shinobi resorted to ninjutsu. Overall though, the attackers seemed happy enough to lay waste to the outer buildings of Konoha and were methodically wiping out building after building. A tall, orange-tiled clock tower shuddered as an explosion took out a large chunk of its side and it careened over, falling into the rest of Konoha with a deafening roar.

"This is tragic," Homura whispered. Smoke and embers rose from the burning village, blowing over the Hokage Tower. "I have wished to never see our village burn again."

"Buildings can be replaced," Koharu consoled him, placing an arm on his shoulder. "We have entrusted the Will of Fire to the next generation, who we fight to protect. Konoha will live on no matter how many buildings they destroy."

The woman's voice had been replaced with a man's voice now, gritty and rough, and he shouted at the enemy with reckless abandon.

"_You stupid fools!"_ He thundered. _"Of all the villages, Konoha is the strongest! Look at your dead comrades! They died for nothing! We will kill you all! You have started a war you cannot win! You are condemned to die a miserable death along with the rest of your loved ones! Your families will die! Your women will weep and beg and your children will hang from the trees! We will burn your homes, destroy your armies and salt your land! That shall be the price you pay for your hubris!"_

"Hokage-sama!" Rat-6 called out, a hand pressed against her head. "Command reports that the targets designated as 'Bombers' are approaching the village!"

Sarutobi could see them, the strange machines flying over their single-manned brethren. There were only four that he could see as they slowly hovered past the village walls. Squadrons of Fliers guarded them, pounding at the ground and Leaf Nin in a wave of brutal suppressing fire. The Hokage watched them with narrowed eyes as Koharu stepped forward.

"If you would, Homura," she asked softly.

Homura nodded and inhaled deeply. He formed a sign, titled his head back and spat out a large globe of water. It shot into the sky as a swirling mass that quickly began to lose form when gravity took hold of it. As it slowed and reached the apex of its ascent, Koharu formed a series of signs._ Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!_

The mass of water twisted in on itself and a giant dragon of liquid roared into the heavens and sped across the village. Koharu held the _ox_ sign as she directed her technique at the nearest enemy Bomber. It arced through the air, past the defensive screen of Fliers, and shot towards the three-manned contraption. There was a sudden jerk and Koharu twitched and suddenly the chakra-generated dragon veered off, spinning around wildly and dispersing in a sudden spray of water.

"What happened?" Sarutobi asked his female teammate. Koharu was still standing strong but the strain of multiple high-level techniques was beginning to show. She reached into her pouch and pulled out a small black soldier pill.

"Sir!" the Hyuuga ANBU called out again. "From what I observed, the enemy bomber is using the chakra of three to power its flight. It works on the same principle as the other machine. However, the use of the additional chakra is creating an effect somewhat similar to the Hyuuga technique _Kaiten_! There is a sphere of rotating chakra circling the Bomber! Koharu-sama's technique did not having the piercing quality to penetrate it!"

Sarutobi didn't even need to order Rat-6 to report and he watched as the Bombers began to slow down. The furthest one stopped over the river, hovering over the moderately large brick bridge. Something protruded from the end and there was a build-up of light and bolts of purple electric-like chakra. A flash of light slammed down into the bridge and it disappeared in a cone of destructive fire that instantly vaporised not only the bridge but a good portion of the buildings one either side. Purple bolts of electricity sparkled around the thick plume of black smoke as it rose into the air.

"What on Earth?" Homura gasped as he felt the building rumble beneath him. "What a devastating technique!"

"Hiruzen!" Koharu called out. "From behind!"

Sarutobi whirled around. One of the bombers had come from over the monument. For a moment, the Third Hokage feared that the craft would stop and begin to attack through the mountain and into the evacuation centre hidden deep inside. Instead, he glided over and began to slowly make its way towards the Hokage's Tower. A wave of Sky Nin advanced before it, two dozen or so enemy Shinobi on an attack vector towards them.

"If the Hokage's Tower is hit by that much concentrated chakra…" Homura muttered worriedly.

"Supress the advance guard!" Sarutobi called out. He bit his finger and formed some signs. "I will destroy the Bomber!"

He slammed his hand down on the ground as his two teammates stepped in front of him and worked with the ANBU to send a volley of fiery streaks through the air. Smoke exploded in front of him and Sarutobi straightened as Enma, the Monkey King, appeared.

"So Naruto was right," Enma rumbled. His yellow eyes surveyed the Village with something like anger as the well-polished Leaf Headband on his head glittered. "Perhaps I will not punish him for ordering me to reverse-summon one of the little infants."

"Enma! Use the Transformation Technique and be prepared for a Replacement Technique!" Sarutobi barked. He gestured at the enemy Bomber, which approached closer and closer as its defensive screen darted around it, combatting the ANBU and Council members. "We will destroy that machine before it can unleash its weapon!"

"Understood!" Enma nodded.

He disappeared in a puff of smoke and Sarutobi reached out and grabbed the adamantine staff. Sarutobi held it under his arm and levelled the tip of it so it was pointing at the bomber.

"Go!" He thundered.

With a streak of black, Enma elongated and shot forward with incredible force. The same drawn-out staff that pushed the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox out of the Village clipped one of the Fliers and turned the shinobi flying it into mush as it rocketed past the defensive screen of Fliers and approached the bomber. For a moment it looked as if it would overshoot but suddenly a large hairy arm lashed out from the side of the staff and a strong meaty hand grabbed at the nearest metal pod. Behind it, the Sky Nin jerked in surprise. He fumbled behind him, reaching for a blade, as the head and torso of Enma the Monkey King appeared from the end of the staff. Enma ducked the first swipe and caught the second in his powerful grip. He ripped the sword out of the shinobi's hands and tossed it away.

The shinobi leaned back as Enma flashed through a series of hand-seals and suddenly he glowed. On the roof of the Hokage's Tower, Sarutobi also glowed and the two of them transformed into glowing orbs of shining light with a long black bar in between them. In a flash, Enma's orb of light rocketed downwards towards the ground and Sarutobi went up towards the sky. The orbs approach each other, passed through and exchanged spots. Enma reappeared on the roof, his feet digging into the tiles, his left arm gripping his right- which was still transformed and wobbling in the air. On the other end, Sarutobi reappeared on the tip of Enma's staff, staring down at the Sky Nin in front of him with death in his eyes.

"No!" the man screamed as Sarutobi leapt at his pod, half-a-dozen shuriken in his fist. He threw them at the Sky Nin as he landed on all fours in front of him. His right hand darted forward, slamming the man's face up and exposing his neck. His left gripped a kunai and shoved in the side of the shinobi's neck. The Third Hokage jerked it across and stood, his enemy already forgotten. His kunai fell from his grip and it bobbed around him, dangling from a piece of wire that was coiled around Sarutobi's finger.

_Fire Release: Flame Dragon Bullet Technique!_

Sarutobi breathed out a stream of fire and held his hands apart. The fire roared as it broke into two different currents, one following his left hand and slamming into the second occupied pod and another curving around as his right hand did and exploded on the third. The two pods exploded in a shower of splintered metal and wood and the humming of the machine instantly stopped.

Sarutobi's eyes narrowed and pressed against the pod he was standing on. Chakra fed into his feet and he propelled himself off the pod and onto the centre of the machine as it began to slowly descend. With a show of chakra-enhanced strength similar to his former student, Sarutobi ripped open a metal panel and flicked his right hand. Behind the panel, a large, bare-chested and muscular shinobi jerked in surprise. Sarutobi's left hand slammed forward and gripped him mercilessly by the neck as the wire in his right hand pulled the kunai into his palm. The Third Hokage's eyes darted around the small compartment, memorising everything he saw in an instant, as he reversed his grip and brought the kunai directly across into the veiled-man's temple.

Sarutobi hurled the kunai back at the first pod and flicked the air with his other hand. Explosive notes slapped onto the metal compartment and sizzled. Sarutobi pulled himself back to the first pod, jumped on the black staff still protruding out in the air and tapped it sharply. On the ground, Enma pulled back on his arm and the staff shortened, taking Sarutobi down from the Bomber. On the way down the Third Hokage absently cut the wire on his finger and flicked it through the air, where it coiled around a Flier's contraption and sent the kunai attached to the end neatly through the Sky Nin's eye-socket. An instant later, Sarutobi touched back down on the roof in a graceful crouch, two fingers held straight in one hand.

"Detonate!"

As the veering bomber exploded in a tremendous ball of fire, the God of Shinobi rose from the ground. There was none of the kindness, cheerfulness or grumpiness that many of the newer generation only knew him for. This was the face of the man that had led his Village through three separate world wars- and was prepared to lead it again in a fourth. The Fliers abruptly withdrew and his teammates walked back to where he was standing.

"You're still as reckless as ever," Homura chided. His armour was singed and the tip of a kunai lay embedded in one of his arm-guards.

"It's to be expected," Koharu sighed.

Sarutobi grunted in response and watched the battle occurring over the village. The female voice was talking again in soothing tones, her voice echoing loudly over the village.

"_There is no hope left for you,"_ she said and she sounded truly sympathetic. _"Our Village will crush you and grind you to dust. This is not a threat- this is a fact. This is the inevitable conclusion of this attack. Surrender. Lower your weapons and offer yourself up to the nearest Leaf Nin. Mercy will be shown. Names will be taken. Your families and loved ones will be spared. You can still come out of this alive and happy. Surrender. Please. Let us show you mercy." _

One of the bombers near the Hospital was in flames as the ANBU platoons coordinated an effective defence. As he watched, another bomber disappeared underneath as a Gai's _Daytime Tiger Technique _tore it to pieces underneath its massive concussive power. He steadied his breathing and attempted to hide his weariness from his subordinates. There was a tight pain in his chest and he carefully settled his raging chakra. His body was simply not able to contain it as well as he used to. Luckily, the invasion seemed to be faltering as Sky Nin peeled away from the attack and soared back into the sky.

"Hokage-sama!" The Hyuuga ANBU called out. "The enemy shinobi have depleted the majority of their chakra. They are withdrawing!

"Excellent," Sarutobi rumbled. He watched his village burn and turned around. Homura and Koharu followed him as he walked past the dead or dying Sky Nin littered around him. "Summon the Council immediately. We have much to discuss."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: A big thanks to DLP for their grammar and spell-checks- although I think I've missed a bit. I've already re-read the first three chapters of this and decided I don't like them. They need cleaning up and some editing, so I'll be getting to that soon.** **The fourth- and supposedly last- chapter went a little longer than anticipated so I'll have to** **write a fifth to finish this arc off. Reviews are always appreciated. Enjoy.**


	7. Chains of Hatred III: Sabotage!

**Chains of Hatred III: Sabotage!**

* * *

><p><em>Konoha burned.<em>

Great plumes of greasy, black smoke rose up into the sunny sky. The streets were cracked and littered with thousands upon thousands of kunai. Windows had been smashed, walls had been knocked over- entire buildings had collapsed in on themselves. The shattered husks of homes and businesses roared with flames as shinobi desperately worked together to put out the terrible fires. A powerful technique had been set off over the Naka River, which trailed from the beyond the Uchiha Clan grounds and through the middle of the village. Not only had a key bridge been destroyed but the river had been diverted into parts of the village and shinobi struggled to fuel their water techniques with the available water.

_Konoha's warriors burned._

Grim-faced shinobi, their faces stained with ash and soot, retrieved headbands and ninja identification tags from the corpses of their comrades. Bodies were covered with grimy blankets. Protocol dictated that a Konoha Shinobi was to be cremated after death so that the secrets and techniques of the Village were kept hidden. A large mound of bodies blazed with fire as super-heated chakra reduced flesh and bone to ash. It was a horrible and messy task, usually suited for the specialised crematoriums in the hospital- but they had been damaged and there were far too many casualties. Secrets needed to be kept and the disease could not be allowed to spread amongst the living- so the bodies of their friends and families were put to the flame.

_Konoha was hurting- but by no means was the blow that had been inflicted fatal._

* * *

><p>No later than ten minutes after the last Sky Nin had disappeared over the horizon then had Konoha's Village Council convened. The Hokage and his advisors, the ANBU and Jonin Commander and selected Jonin Squad Leaders and Clan Heads met in a small but secured room underneath the Hokage's Tower. The Hokage sat there in silence, his eyes hidden from behind his hat, as the council listened to a report given to them.<p>

"…ANBU medical squad has been dispatched to locate survivors trapped in the rubble," the dragon-masked ANBU said quietly. "The hospital is nearing full-capacity and we have erected temporary tents to take care of the wounded. All medic-nin have reported in for duty and non-essential personnel are assisting."

"There was a visiting team from Taki who were caught in the battle," Homura informed them. "They have left behind several shinobi with medical training to assist us while they inform their leader of what has transpired."

Sarutobi remained quiet. His eyes were fixated on the three vacant seats around the table- seats that had been filled with some of his top Jonin less than an hour ago. Two were receiving medical treatment, one critical, while the third had been killed during the invasion. He closed his eye with a sigh and listened to his men and women converse.

"We need to decide on our next course of action," Yamanaka Inoichi said firmly. The blonde-haired man sat next to his two former teammates.

"I have sent a message to the Fire Daimyo," Koharu said, her voice somewhat wavering. She coughed twice and shook her head. "The Twelve Ninja Guardians will see to his protection. The Sky Ninja will not find an easy target at the capital."

"All Shinobi in the vicinity of Konoha have been recalled," Nara Shikaku, the Jonin Commander, said. His scarred face was deep in thought. "We are rebuilding our defences and rotating our shinobi force. What we do next is a matter for the Hokage."

Eyes turned to Sarutobi, who kept his head bowed. There was an awkward pause before the ANBU Commander broke the silence.

"If I may ask," he murmured politely. "What losses did we sustain during this attack?"

"Final numbers aren't out yet but we're looking at about 650 dead, twice that wounded," replied Ryouta Yakushi, Head of Konoha's Medical Corp. "Strategically speaking, only around four-precent of Konoha's total military force was killed."

"It is still a staggering loss not seen since the Third Great War," Inoichi pointed out. "I'm concerned about morale. For many of the new generation, this will be their first real war- one that has taken place at home. People are upset and disheartened."

"How shall the others of the Great Five react to this, I wonder," Homura mused out loud.

"Shinobi hold grudges for a very long time," Koharu said quietly. "It could mean war."

"No." Sarutobi spoke up for the first time. He lifted his eyes and they were as hard as stone. "The other Villages will not break the fragile peace we have- not over this. They too are at risk. They will watch and wait and see what happens."

"Can we count on Suna to send aid?" Chouza rumbled out. He sat cross-legged on the floor, still tall enough to see over the table.

"Officially, yes. Unofficially, not a chance," Shikaku answered dryly. "We might be able to organise a defence the bordering minor countries, if only to deter international interference on this matter."

"We will not defend," Sarutobi murmured but everybody heard him. They stopped talking and looked as the Third Hokage took a deep breath. "The enemy has cut us but it is a shallow cut and the bleeding will stop. We need to ensure that the enemy will not cut us again. We must launch a counterattack."

Quiet murmurs broke out at that. Sarutobi was one that had seen a lifetime of war and usually favoured diplomacy and negotiation over battle. However, there were some things that could not be forgiven and an attack on the very heart of Fire Country and Konoha was not something that could be allowed to slide.

"We cannot attack an enemy we can't find," Hyuuga Hiashi pointed out logically. The white-robed man was expressionless. "We lack information."

"Then lets analyse what we already know," Shikaku said. He stood and gestured at one of the ANBU guarding from the shadows. The masked shinobi unravelled a large map of Fire Country and its immediate surrounding borders on the table. "We have three issues at hand," Shikaku continued. He counted on his fingers. "The first being the location of the enemy, the second being our means to arrive at that location and the third mustering an army to attack."

The ANBU Commander shifted forward, silver mask gleaming. "I can provide a solution for the second and third of those problems," he offered. "ANBU Combat Platoon "Delta" was conducting training exercises nearby. They have received their orders and will arrive back in Konoha in approximately an hour. We have enough of our Reserves to muster together another platoon and still leave three here for Konoha's defence."

"How will they travel there?" One of the Jonin Squad leaders asked. "Sky Country could very well send another wave before a counterattack can be made."

"We will use the enemy's strengths to our advantage," the ANBU Commander replied. "There is a possibility that they have constructed a forward base only reachable by flight. We will use Konoha's _Hawk Summoning Contract_ as our means of transportation."

"Hawk Summoning Contract?" Chouza asked curiously. "I wasn't aware that we possessed such a thing."

"We breed thousands of birds to act as our messengers," the Commander explained. "There is an ongoing project to develop or grow new Class-5 summoning creatures. At the present moment, we have six class-3 summoning hawks. Each could hold about seven or eight Shinobi."

"Why wasn't this used during the invasion?" One of the other Jonin frowned.

The ANBU Commander cocked his head. "It is my job to look at the big picture. Half-a-dozen class 3 aerial summons would not have contributed much- if anything- against a superior-sized and better trained force. Now, though, they may be of use."

"Two ANBU platoons against an entire division," Inoichi murmured. "Perhaps even more than one- we have no information on the disposition of their forces. We were unable to take any prisoners alive and we're having trouble extracting information from the dead."

"Fail safe, perhaps," Homura said thoughtfully. "They have had decades to study our doctrine."

"Are two platoons enough to defeat Sky Country?" Yakushi Ryouta asked.

"You misunderstand," the ANBU Commander said. "The overarching issue here is to prevent Sky Country from launching another aerial raid. We do not have to defeat them all- merely halt their advance."

"There are a number of factors at play here," Shikaku said suddenly. "We have many questions and very few answers. Was this the entirety of Sky Ninja's army? Is there another battalion on its way already? How long will it take the Sky-Nin to recover their chakra? What are their current levels of equipment and supplies? By what means do they launch their mechanical winged devices into the air? Most importantly, just where have they constructed their base of operations?"

"We cannot act without the answer to at least some of those questions," Hiashi agreed.

"Shikaku," Sarutobi spoke up quietly. The Nara turned to him. "Can we track the Sky Nin back to their base of operations?"

Shikaku frowned. "I have several similar accounts given to me by the Hyuuga. They each report that the Sky Shinobi arrived at the battle with just approximately two thirds of their chakra. They continued the battle until they have roughly one third remaining." He paused. "It's only logical to assume that the remaining third was to see them return back to base safely."

Hiashi stepped in. "My clansmen and I observed the rate at which the flying apparatus was consuming chakra and reported this to Military Intelligence."

Shikaku grabbed a pencil and drew a large circle throughout Fire Country. "With the rate of chakra depletion, they must have come from somewhere in this area. However, we also know that Gamma Team was intercepted and attacked around here," he made a cross on the map, south-east of Konoha and close to the coat. "This leaves only this remaining area as a possibility." He cross-hatched the map and stood back.

"That's close to Wave Country," Koharu pointed out. "Hasn't there been a disturbance there recently- something about a public execution?"

"Hatake Kakashi's Genin Team is in Wave Country escorting a client home," Sarutobi pondered this fact carefully.

"The timing is convenient," Homura remarked.

"I'll redo my calculations but it is my opinion that Wave Country is too far out to be the point of origin of the Sky-Nin," Shikaku said. "We have already formed several possibilities for where they may have come from. Taking into account the need for privacy, the Sky-Nin needed to have avoided major roads and towns and, until today, kept out of the way of ANBU patrols."

"We would still need to second a recon team out to find them before we could launch an attack," Hiashi pointed out.

"No," Sarutobi murmured thoughtfully. "Perhaps we don't."

* * *

><p>At the deep crater where the south-eastern ANBU Rest House used to reside the remains of Gamma Team's fourth squad and Iota team remained hidden in a partially hollowed out trunk. The huge tree soared high into the sky, far higher than what should be possible, and its canopy melded with those of the trees around it to create and almost impenetrable barrier that blocked out the view of the sky.<p>

If they could not see up then the enemy could not see down.

A little while ago the enemy's air force had flown overhead, away from the direction of Konoha and back towards wherever they had come from. Naruto had felt a stab of vicious glee as he noticed that as far he could tell there were far less of the enemy flying back from the village then there had been flying to it. Still, the fact that there were still enemies left indicated that the Leaf's defence had not been perfect.

Undoubtedly, there would be casualties. Shinobi he had worked with, joked with, begged for help against the tyrannical Third Hokage and his totally unfair habits- who knew how many of them had died? Naruto felt his brows furrow as he suddenly found that he couldn't really put a lot of names to the faces that flashed through his head. Certainly, he would be distraught at the thought of his fellow comrades falling in battle against the enemy, but apart from the Third Hokage (and Konohamaru, as much it pained him to admit) there were very few Shinobi that were his_ friends_.

Naruto abruptly let out a loud sigh and shook his head, clearing them of the strangely troubling thoughts. He looked up from where he was sitting and watched the rest of the ANBU as they all went about their various tasks. Towa and Yuuka were dozing quietly, their backs pressed up against the trunk of the trees. As useful as the ANBU masks were, they did not make for a very comfortable nap and the two members had taken them off and were pressed up against each other, using their cloaks as makeshift pillow. Some shinobi might have wolf-whistled at the sight of the two exhausted shinobi huddling in against each other. Naruto was young but he was ANBU- he recognised that there were no stronger bonds than between fellow comrade-in-arms.

The Squad Leaders, Komachi and Kage, were talking to each other quietly as they poured over a field map. Daichi was nearby, the rather enthusiastic Hyuuga consulting with the two senior officers. From what Naruto understood, they were trying to determine the point of origin of the enemy's attack by using the chakra levels of the shinobi and the rate of chakra consumption of the flying machines. Naruto had tried to keep up, determined to be of some use, but the maths involved was far beyond his level and his head had only hurt the more he tried to understand.

In the end, he had decided that it was probably more beneficial to rest and build up his strength. His chakra was still in top condition- it was rare where the young blond could burn through chakra faster than the rate his body would naturally create it- but he had been mentally exhausted. It had been a long day. Briefly, he wondered if this was what Hatake Kakashi or Uchiha Itachi had felt when they had first joined ANBU at a young age.

Actually, they probably had it worse. Naruto had his natural awesomeness to compensate where Kakashi had only had his perverted little books and Itachi his sociopathic tendencies and desire to brutally execute his entire family.

"Ferret," Komachi called. "Come here."

Naruto jumped to his feet and jogged past Towa and Yuuka. He joined his commanding officer at and knelt beside her as she poured over the map.

"We've determined that the enemy must have come from around 'here'." Komachi pointed to Fire Countries eastern coast. She tracked her finger up to Port City, one of Fire Country's coastal cities just north of Wave Country on the other side of the bay. She brought the finger down and traced over the coast. "That's the entire coastline of the Sea of Whirlpools- a large area."

"It might have come from Wave Country," Naruto muttered. He made an odd noise from behind his mask. "Actually, there's a Genin Team operation over the coast in Wave- Hatake Kakashi. He might have seen something."

"I don't think they would have had quite enough chakra to make it to Wave," Daichi spoke up with an easy smile. He threw his hands up helplessly. "I'm not an expert or anything but I think they're probably somewhere at the southern end of the coast. It's less populated and our patrols are much less frequent there."

"They could have built a base of operations in the wilderness and slowly moved in equipment to prepare for their invasion," Komachi mused.

"Regardless," Kage spoke up quietly. "We need to inform the Hokage of our calculations. It's likely that they too have come to the same conclusion but more data never hurts."

"I'll summon a messenger," Naruto said and stood up. He took off one of his gloves and reached up to his mouth, an abnormally-sharp canine biting into his thumb. Blood was drawn and he smeared it over the palm of his hand, flipping through some seals.

"_Summoning Techni-"_ He began.

A puff of smoke and a loud pop filled the hollowed-out trunk and Naruto took an immediate step back. From the smoke came Enma, the Monkey King, and he did not look too pleased. His yellow eyes glanced over Komachi, who looked just as startled as Naruto, and Kage, who probably was as startled but hid it much better, and came to rest on Naruto.

"You!" he snapped grumpily.

He reached into his pouch and Naruto swallowed nervously. He had a lot of painful memories of Enma reaching into his equipment and pulling out random spiky and sharp instruments. Instead of pulling out a weapon, however, Enma brought out a gleaming white orb. It was about the size of a large grapefruit.

"What's that?" Daichi asked in puzzlement.

"The Hokage's Crystal Ball!" Naruto breathed in horror. "What are you doing with that? Are you trying to get me beat up, you stupid monkey? The old man's gonna kill me when he finds out I have that!"

"Shut up, you miserable little brat!" Enma roared. He reared up. "Here I am doing Sarutobi a favour and acting far below my status and you start spouting off nonsense! Think before you speak!"

"Don't tell me what to do!" Naruto growled heatedly.

The Monkey King and the Nine-Tailed Host bumped head, narrowing their eyes at each other. There was practically electricity flying between them as Kage and Komachi shared a bemused look. Daichi just chuckled while Yuuka and Towa emerged from where they had been sleeping. Nobody could sleep through an argument between Naruto and the Monkey King. The white-furred bipedal summon was just like the Third Hokage- except worse, if such a thing was possible, and Naruto had a streak of stubbornness that neither Enma or Sarutobi could break.

The Third Hokage had tried once and only once to ignore an argument between the two. It had degenerated from heated words to a screaming match and then to blows. It had only been when Enma had gotten cranky and had thrown a house at Naruto that Sarutobi had intervened.

Naruto claimed it had been less of a house and more of a garden shed. Regardless, the concussion he had received had not endeared him to the Monkey King at all.

Enma huffed. "Stupid boy," he growled. "Your Hokage gave this to me to give to you. There is an urgent matter that he has to speak to you about."

Naruto's clenching fist lowered and his mood abruptly swung around. He nodded at Enma seriously and ignored the slightly-incredulous ANBU around him as he stepped forward. Enma took a deep breath and concentrated, one hand raised to form a seal and the other holding onto the Crystal Ball.

"What is that, Ferret?" Kage asked softly.

"It's the focus for the Third Hokage's Telescope Technique," Naruto answered. "It lets the Hokage lock onto a person's chakra pattern and observe them. It doesn't really work out of the Village that well, so Enma must be doing something to-"

"_Can you hear me?"_

Naruto paused. His eyes focussed on the crystal ball in Enma's hand.

"_Message Repeats: Ferret, designated as Captain of Sigma Squad, can you hear me?"_

"Sir!" Naruto called out. He paused, scratching the back of his head. "I can hear you, sir," he replied in an affirmative.

"_You are being assigned a priority mission,"_ Sarutobi spoke through the glowing crystal ball. Enma was sweating as he held it in the palm of his hand, channelling chakra through it._ 'Do you have a field map ready?'_

There was a rustle of paper from behind him.

"Affirmative," Naruto confirmed.

"_Mission focus: reconnaissance_. _You are to link up with any available ANBU personnel and patrol through sections G-4-5 to G-5-9_. _The enemy has been identified as Sky Country. Locate signs of Sky Country's presence in those areas and report back."_

"Understood," Naruto calledout. There was scribbling on the map from behind them.

There was a pause. "_As of this moment, Sigma Team has full operational control of this mission_," the Hokage finally spoke. _"All available local ANBU assets are transferred to Sigma's jurisdiction. All pending missions have been placed on hold. This mission takes full priority."_

Naruto's eyes were wide. "Yes, sir," he said numbly.

"_If located, Sigma Team is to report back to ANBU Command," _Sarutobi concluded. _"Enma has volunteered to transmit vital information. He will be designated as Sigma Team's Communications Office. Summon him when needed."_ There was a pause._ "Good luck, Naruto. The Will of Fire shall illuminate your path."_

The ball abruptly dimmed and Enma let out an audible sigh. He carefully placed the valuable crystal ball back in his pouch and stared down at Naruto with his fierce yellow eyes. Naruto, for his part, still felt numb. Full operational command? Sure, he had ran many operations before but they had been simple _D_ and _C-ranked_ missions- organising squads of Chunin on local and in non-combat scenarios.

"Naruto," Enma broke into his thoughts and Naruto realised he must had been standing there for a while. The Monkey King was eying him with an expression that he had never seen on him before. "The Third Hokage has placed his faith in you. Do not let him down."

And with that, Naruto's resolve returned.

"Yes," he said quietly.

Enma nodded gravely and disappeared in a puff of smoke. Naruto turned back to his fellow ANBU members and found them knelt before him. Komachi, his former commanding office, rose up.

"Captain," she murmured. "What are your orders?"

"Gather our equipment," Naruto said and he issued his very first order. He took a deep breath. "We move out in five."

* * *

><p>Tenzo stalked through the darkened corridors of the ANBU Headquarters. His white mask gleamed in the torchlight as he silently made his way to the door at the end of the hallway. Two ANBU stared at him but made no move to stop him as he opened the door and stepped through it. The Third Hokage sat in the centre of the small room, conferring quietly with the ANBU Commander. Both men looked up as Tenzo bowed his head respectfully.<p>

"Hokage-sama, Commander-sama," he greeted. His voice was monotone. "Reporting for duty as ordered."

"Ah, excellent," the Hokage murmured. He rubbed his hands together. "You may sit."

Tenzo took the offered chair and sat down stiffly. His well-trained eyes spotted the signs of battle underneath the Hokage's robes and his nose picked up on blood and fire and smoke and ash. As somebody who had been in ANBU from the age of six, he remained quiet and waited for his superiors to address him.

"I trust that you are aware of current events," the Hokage asked him quietly.

"I am." Tenzo nodded.

"Good," Sarutobi said briskly. "I have a priority mission for you- _S-rank_, of course. Do you accept?"

The word was a mere formality and all three men in the room knew it. Tenzo had graduated the Academy at the age of six and had made Chunin only mere months later. Due to the unique circumstances surrounding him, he had been inducted into ANBU and had undergone specialised training in order to bring out his talents. His power over _Mokuton_ was only a fraction of what the First Hokage had been capable of but it had been enough to raise him to the very top of the _elite_. After learning much from Hatake Kakashi, Tenzo had been assigned leadership of ANBU's Delta Team.

In the three years since, Tenzo had achieved the second-best performance record of any ANBU serving under the Third Hokage- only falling short of Uzumaki Naruto, where his position as ANBU's Sigma Team and the personal assistant of the Third Hokage had seen the young boy perform an unprecedented amount of_ D_ and _C-ranked_ missions.

To date, Tenzo had never refused or failed a mission- nor had he lost a single man or woman in combat. It was a record that he was immensely proud of and one that no ANBU before him, not even the legendary _Sannin_ or the _White Fang_ could claim.

"Yes," Tenzo answered firmly.

The ANBU Commander slid a mission brief across the table and Tenzo picked it up. "You will take command of two ANBU Combat Platoons: Team Delta and a mixture of battle-ready squads from Team Bravo and Epsilon. Boar will be your second in command. The _Hawk Summoning Contract_ has been allocated for the success of this mission."

"You will fly to Konoha's ANBU Safe House 'Splinter' and hold," Sarutobi continued from where the Commander had left off. "Team Sigma is currently on a reconnaissance mission to locate the Sky Country's stronghold. Once located, a summon creature will be dispatched to your position and coordinates and further information will be provided."

"Our information is lacking," the Commander spoke. His silver mask revealed nothing. "We know nothing of their numbers, defences or the layout of their base. We know some of their techniques and strategies- it's in your brief- but you'll be essentially going in blind."

"Your mission stands as follows: you are to delay and disrupt Sky Country's ability to launch further attacks on Fire Country soil," the Third Hokage declared. "Use any means necessary. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama," Tenzo said crisply. "The mission parameters are clear to me. We shall defend the village from further attack."

"Excellent," the Hokage said and smiled grimly. "Your platoon leaves in fifteen minutes. Dismissed."

* * *

><p>At heart, the<em> Shadow Clone Technique<em> had been designed for reconnaissance and information-gathering purposes. A shadow clone had physical form and could open doors and move around obstacles in ways that many other scouting techniques could not. A shadow clone also had a certain level of independence and could perform tasks without direct oversight. Most importantly, the _Shadow Clone Technique_ could- and had been- integrated with Yamanaka Mind Techniques. When moulded properly, a shadow clone was able to transmit a copy of the electrical activity occurring in the brain back in a stream of chakra to its point of origin- its creator. For the most part, the creator received whatever the shadow clone had experienced.

There were some limitations. The _Shadow Clone Technique _required massive amounts of chakra to use, more chakra than the average shinobi possessed. The further away the clone was the longer it took for the chakra stream to return to its creator. The shadow clone also had to be moulded in a very specific way depending on what type of sense stimuli the creator wanted to receive. Sight and sound were generally the most common type but there were specific shadow clones that had been designed to sniff out chemical weapons and test food for poison. The sense of touch was almost never included: no creator wanted to experience the death of the clone, especially in a combat area.

The rarest type of shadow clone was one that transmitted _everything_. They were the rarest and the most dangerous. The human brain worked perfectly fine transmitting and decoding a single set of stimuli- that of the original body. A second set caused an extremely large amount of mental strain and a third set could cause irreparable mental damage, rupture the brain and scramble the neural pathways. Despite the obvious advantages that this type of clone offered its creator, especially when training a new skill, it was practically never used.

Naruto was the anomaly. Not only had he been gifted with the old blood of the Uzumaki Clan, a bloodline that stemmed all the way back to the time of the Sage of the Six Paths, but he was the host of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, which gave him absurdly amounts of chakra and a boost to his natural stamina and resilience. Even he wouldn't make more than ten of those types of clones. He used a variety of shadow clones to continue his five-year progress into elemental and shape manipulation but only rarely did he require a full-set of stimuli from those clones.

On his mission to locate Sky Country's stronghold Naruto used his almost-inhuman chakra reserves to create dozens of shadow clones. They scattered all over the country side, criss-crossing each other as they bounded from tree to tree. Each clone had been designed to transmit visual stimuli back in the event that they found something- but they also had the independence to choose _not_ to send back information if it wasn't necessary. Naruto had no desire to see _every_ single tree in the Fire Country.

With the remnants of an ANBU Recon Team, the Byakugan and a somewhat-adept Sensor-type Nin by his side, it did not take the young ANBU long to find what he was looking for.

* * *

><p>With a blur of movement, six black streaks launched from the last tree and landed gracefully on the ground. They sped across the withering grass, travelling tens of meters in a flash, and bounded past the last of the plants and shrubs and onto a large plain of sand. Their feet seemed to touch the sand but left no imprints as the small group bounded up a large sand dune and paused as they reached the top.<p>

"There!" Naruto hissed, jabbing his fingers out to sea from the top of dune. "There they are!"

Team Sigma continued their fast-pace trek across the rippling sand. Their speed had increased and they were practically sprinting for the small rocky outcropping at the top of the coastal cliffs. They jumped up- Komachi spun around and withdrew a large sheet-like piece of cloth and they landed on the ledge. A second later, the cloth came settling down over them and they each stilled. The cloth settled around them, creating a slightly-transparent layer to peer out of, while the outside layer settled on a mixture of brown and grey that blended in with the landscape around them.

Moments later, a pair of Sky Nin zoomed overhead and passed them.

Naruto watched them with bated breath. His heart was racing in his chest as he tracked the patrolling Sky shinobi. Relief begin to flood his mind as the Fliers soared past them without altering course. They had not been seen. Naruto turned and silently tapped Daichi on the shoulder. The Hyuuga tilted his head and watched as Naruto drew a little circle in the air with his finger. Daichi gave a short shake and pressed his hand to his head in apparent pain.

"We're clear," Naruto murmured.

As Yuuka and Towa watched their backs, Naruto joined Komachi and Kage at the end of the blanket as the two experienced ANBU members stared down at the enemy. Waves crashed against the cliffs with a loud roar below them.

Their mission was complete. They had found the enemy.

Contrary to what Naruto had been expecting, Sky Country had not built a forward base on the mainland. Instead, Naruto saw, they had arrived here via a fleet of ships. There were eight of them, three large and five small. The smaller ships were slender, a single tower rising from a curved deck. They were clearly patrol boats for the gargantuan carriers that followed. They were huge, a large tower of metal and stone rising from two thick cylinders that bobbed up and down on the water. Each resulting 'building' must had been as tall as the Hokage's Tower and large stone faces had been carved into the sides. At the top of the tower was the deck of the ship, where tiny little black specks crawled all over it. As Naruto watched, there was a small flash of light and a pair of golden streaks zoomed from one side of the deck to the other. They wobbled in the air as they flew off the deck but almost-immediately gained height and began their patrol.

"A fleet," Kage murmured from beside Naruto. "It's a mobile fleet with the capability to launch airborne raids right in the middle of Fire Country. What a powerful concept." For once there was emotion in the blank-faced ANBU's voice. Naruto couldn't tell if it was respect or fear.

"Kage, Komachi, take notes," he ordered determinedly. "Yuuka, work out our exact coordinates. We need to report this location right away."

Kage fumbled through his pack and pulled out a pair of binoculars. Komachi pulled out her marker and together they started talking quietly to each other, describing key aspects of Sky Country's Fleet and jotting down notes and sketches. Yuuka opened her field map and began to pinpoint exactly where they were while Naruto flashed through some signs and summoned a small monkey. He took Yuuka's hurried scribbling and gave it to the chittering little thing.

"Take this to our earlier location," he told the monkey. "Run as quick as you can."

The monkey disappeared in a blur of movement. Naruto glanced at Daichi, who nodded wordlessly, and made the same signs again. He pressed his hand down on the warm sand and another puff of smoke appeared. When it dissipated, Enma lay on the ground next to him. He wordlessly held up the Crystal Ball and Naruto waited.

The ball began to glow and the Hokage's voice emerged from it.

"_Team Sigma, report."_

"The enemy has been located, Hokage-sama," Naruto said quietly. He gave the Hokage the coordinates. "Sir, the enemy possesses a fleet of eight ships. There are three large ships which seem to launch the Sky Shinobi into the air. The remainder are smaller patrol vessels."

"_A sea-fleet and an air-force,_" the Hokage sounded grim. _"Our enemies are indeed powerful. Well done, Team Sigma. You have performed well. Captains Tenzo and Boar are en-route to "Splinter" Rest House and will take control of this situation from here."_

"The coordinates have been sent," Naruto said.

"_Excellent. I knew I could trust you with this task, Naruto,_" the Third Hokage said. _"During a time of great need you have served your Village well. Congratulations."_

Naruto felt a smile bloom across his face and was glad that the mask hid his features as his cheeks reddened with pleased embarrassment. He scratched the back of his head and laughed nervously. He couldn't help but feel proud of himself.

"Ferret!" Daichi suddenly called out. "We have movement!"

Naruto swung his head back to the ships. He did not have the superior eyes of a Hyuuga but even he could tell that more and more black specks were gathering on the deck of the ships. Kage and Komachi exchanged looks with each other and turned to Naruto expectedly, while Sarutobi remained silent on his end of the Crystal Ball.

"What can you see?" Naruto asked Daichi. "Have we been spotted?"

"I don't think so," Daichi murmured. "It looks like a mission briefing. I can see some moving platforms bringing up those flying devices." He paused. "There are hundreds of them."

"They are preparing to launch another attack," Komachi said quietly. She absently brushed her brown bangs away from her mask. "They must have recovered their chakra."

"_Team Sigma!"_ the Hokage barked and Naruto almost flinched. _"I am assigning you another mission! You are to do all you can to delay the enemy's departure. ANBU reinforcements are en-route but will not arrive until later. Stop them from launching their second attack!"_

"Yes, sir," Naruto responded grimly.

"_There are two secondary objectives," _the Hokage continued after a beat. _"Firstly, if possible, cripple the enemy's vessels so that they cannot leave the area. Secondly, attempt to capture a senior officer for interrogation. _

"Understood," Naruto said with a nod. "We'll report back once we have achieved our mission."

The crystal ball dimmed and Enma disappeared with a puff of smoke. Feeling all eyes on him, Naruto swallowed and turned to face his squad- his subordinates. His mind was racing, Naruto almost panicked but he forced himself to calm down and considered all of his options.

"What equipment do we have left?" He asked after a few moments.

They pooled in their remaining equipment. There were only a few shuriken left but they had at least two-dozen kunai all-together, as well as several spools of wire and rolls of bandages. Komachi had dozens- hundreds, even- of senbon and Kage had small little book that Naruto first thought was _Icha Icha_. It turned out to be full of explosive notes. Kage shrugged underneath all the looks he got.

"Okay," Naruto said abruptly. "We have lots of things to do and not a lot of time so we're going to split up. Yuuka, you and Daichi will identify and capture an enemy officer. I'm sure that you can extract some information from a Sky Nin on one of the patrol boats and work yourself up if you have to."

"Gotcha!" Daichi said and gave him thumbs up.

"Isn't he so cute when he's bossy?" Yuuka asked with a saucy wink.

"I have considerable infiltration experience. I should be able to tag the bottom of each of the ships without being seen," Kage offered.

Naruto nodded. "Good. That leaves Komachi, Towa and me to attack the enemy ships." He recalled watching the Flier launch into the air. "I think that they need the deck to launch their craft. If we can damage or destroy it then we should slow them down."

"Sounds good," Towa said. He slapped a first in his palm and Naruto could picture the vicious grin behind his bird-mask. "I'm dying to give these arseholes some payback…"

The sheer hatred behind the other ANBU's words made Naruto feel uncomfortable. He ignored them and turned back to watching the sea. The enemy fleet bobbed up and down on the surface of the ocean, which glittered majestically as the sun shown down brightly. It was very peaceful and tranquil- a great place for some leave, Naruto decided wistfully.

"Let's go," was all he said.

* * *

><p>Naruto breathed deeply, his stomach rising and falling, as he slowly propelled himself through the dark depths of the floor of the sea. His breath rang loudly in his ears, a sharp contrast to the void of silence from all around him. His ANBU mask formed a seamless and airtight cavity around his mouth and certain parts of it could act in a similar fashion as a rebreather. Compared to the technology of the Water Country and the Village Hidden in the Mist the rebreather was inefficient and sorely lacking. For the purpose of this mission, it would do the job.<p>

The sun show brightly above and Naruto could see the dark bottoms of the ships rocking gently on the surface of the ocean. He kicked his legs in the water, swimming further in until he was directly underneath the surface of his designated target carrier. He was too wary to use chakra so he just pushed up off the seabed and kicked his way up.

The water became warmer and warmer the closer he swam to the surface and Naruto tried his best to remain out of the sun. Eventually the faint noises of machinery teased him from the edge of his senses and the silence was broken. He swam up to the bottom of the ship and reached out to touch it. He channelled chakra into his hands and legs and somersaulted lazily, placing his feet and hands on the bottom of the boat. Then, slowly, he began to crawl his way over the hull, hanging on upside down with adhesive chakra.

His head broke out of the water first and he carefully checked around him, craning his head upwards to see if there were Sky Nin who could see him. All he could hear was the sound of the waves crashing against the hull of the ship and the seagulls crying out mournfully. He checked the position of the sun and his eyes widened behind his mask. He quickly ducked and watched as two Sky Shinobi flew past as streaks of gold. After they were gone, one limb at a time, Naruto began to silently scale the side of the ship.

This was perhaps the most difficult part of the mission. Suspended from the side of the ship, Naruto was extremely exposed. The patrolling Sky Nin seemed to swoop past the ships every three or four minutes or so and it wouldn't only take one of them to spot him and raise an alarm. The ANBU were skilled and strong- but not strong enough to take on an entire army- especially if there was a _Kage-level _or multiple Jonin-level shinobi on-board.

Naruto's ears twitched and he suddenly darted up the side of the hull and broke into a sprint. Water slid effortlessly off his black cloak and his heart pounded in his chest as he climbed up one of the two large cylinders that seemed to act like engines. He dove for the nearest cover as soon as he could, coming to rest on a metallic grey platform and ducking behind it.

A moment later two shinobi strolled past above him. A metallic catwalk spiralled around much of the huge tower that rose up into the sky and Naruto could hear the two men talking quietly to each other. Naruto held his breath and froze as the two men walked over him without stopping and disappeared.

Naruto exhaled and swallowed. He crouched and with a quick burst of chakra he leapt up to the skywalk, grabbing the rail and flipping over it to land silently on the metal. He crouched again and jumped- flying high up into the sky and grabbing hold of the next rail. He used it as a hold as he twisted his body, planted his feet on the side of the ship and disappeared in a flicker of movement.

It only took him a few minutes to reach to top of the ship and he peeked over the edge. The deck was mostly empty. It was a straight stretch of concrete and iron with a series of towers and balconies on one side. There were two grooves that ran from one end to the other, where a pair of metal seat-like objects sat. Behind them was a lift and Naruto could imagine Sky Shinobi rising from the lower decks and being propelled into the air.

It was time for sabotage.

The young blond ANBU scanned the area and silently leapt onto the deck. He dashed for the towers and hid himself in the shadows, crossing the expanse of the runway in a matter of moments. He reached into his clock and pulled out a bundle of explosive notes. For the next few minutes, he planted them on anything that looked mechanical. He had no idea how exactly the Sky Country technology worked but if the enemy had gone to all the effort to build a series of cogwheels and thick rubber bands on the deck then they surely must be important.

After he was done he checked the sun. He was grinning behind his mask, the sheer excitement and danger of the mission sending a thrilling rush through his body that combat drills and simulated battles could never bring. There was a few minutes left and he hoped that his team had managed to complete their parts of the mission. He formed a hand-seal and hid in the shadows, waiting. He would soon see.

* * *

><p>High above the Sea of Whirlpools a flock of seagulls circled around the very top spires of the three enormous vessels. They cried out mournfully and their brethren responded. As the lead bird opened its beak to let out another cry light flared and, before it could make a sound, disappeared in a rush of searing heat.<p>

Simultaneous explosions rocked the deck of all three ships. Iron and concrete was smashed apart underneath the powerful _Class-1 _explosive notes. Billows of black smoke rose into the air, dirtying what had been a beautiful sunny afternoon. The boats trembled and sirens immediately began to sound. Naruto flinched underneath the wave of expanding heat and lowered his hands. Adrenaline and chakra surged through his body and pushed off the concrete and leapt towards the runway.

_Henge!_ Naruto formed a seal andtransformed.

He was surrounded by a puff of smoke and when it dispersed an ANBU stood there- one twice as tall as and much broader than Naruto was. The first of the Sky Nin appeared on deck and Naruto dove at a pair of them. The first held a kunai launcher and sent half-a-dozen bolts of deadly steel straight through the transformations head head. The disguise was dispelled with a pop of smoke and Naruto used the pair's obvious surprise to his advantage as he slipped underneath their guard. He lashed out with his leg and a kneecap cracked, the second Sky Nin falling to the side. A roundhouse kicked and the application of chakra saw the shinobi catapult away.

Naruto twisted his body as he spun around to face the first shinobi, who had recovered from that split-second hesitation and lunged at him with the two-handed implement in his hand. He brought it down from over his head but Naruto dodged it, the butt of the kunai repeated slamming into the concrete with a heavy thud. A spring twanged and a kunai slipped through the sleeve of his cloak. Naruto reverse-gripped it and spun his arm around in a horizontal arc. The black blade popped through the Sky Nin's elbow in a spray of blood. Naruto twisted it out, changed his grip and slashed at the shinobi's face. The blade dug into flesh and the Sky Nin collapsed, bellowing in pain. Naruto left him there as he twisted arm and sent the wired-kunai back into its spring loader.

Hands blurred as Naruto channelled his chakra. He manipulated its nature, twisting it throughout his body and increasing the high-frequency vibrations of it, and lightning burst from around his fingers. Naruto bought his hands down and he drove into the technique. Chakra fled his _tenketsu_, wasted and unused as flickering blue dome of chakra howled around him, but Naruto didn't care as he released his technique into the very deck of the ship.

_Lightning Release: Electromagnetic Murder!_

Powerful streams of lightning erupted from the ends of his hands and into the concrete surface of the deck. The lightning tore through it with ease, giant arcs ripping large slabs of concrete apart with its powerful piercing qualities. Arcs of brightly glowing whitish-blue lightning sprung up all over the deck, lashing out at everything around it. The fire from the explosions continued to rage and clouds of black smoke drifted up, mingling with the occasional spark of lightning chakra. When Naruto raised his hands, the deck looked like it been through an earthquake.

More and more Sky Nin were pouring onto the deck now. As Naruto heard the boom of a distant eruption and saw the tower of one of the other boats go up in flames, he smiled grimly. It was time to leave.

The shinobi around him were yelling and metal tore through the air. Naruto's feet blurred as he sprinted down the deck of the ship, jumping over piles of cracked and shattered concrete. Kunai whistled past his ears- some were too close and a blade appeared in his hand, parrying them away- as the Ferret-masked ANBU raced to the end of the deck and dove.

For a moment he felt weightless, suspended above the rippling ocean underneath, and then he plummeted. He twisted in the air and made a single sign. A shadow clone appeared and Naruto used its back to soften his fall. It exploded as Naruto pushed up on it, somersaulted and landed neatly on the surface of the ocean. As smoke rose, sirens blared and the Sky Nin patrols began to converge, Naruto dipped beneath the surface of the water and disappeared.

* * *

><p>It was a wearied and wet group of ANBU operatives that met up at the rendezvous point several kilometres north of the coast. They hid within an inlet, sharp wet stones hiding them from view as swarms of Sky Nin occasionally soared over them. Beneath his cloak, Naruto was shivering as he and Towa waited for the rest of the squad to join them. For every minute Naruto waited the burden on his shoulders grew heavier and heavier.<p>

Maybe they wouldn't return.

Maybe he had gotten his comrades killed.

His ANBU tattoo burned and Naruto stiffened. From out of the murky water came Komachi, the woman limping as water dripped off of her. Towa was by her side in an instant, hoisting her up and laying her down on the rocky ledge. He began delving into the medical kit as he treated the bloodied gash on her leg while Naruto watched on. He was transfixed by the oozing wound and didn't notice Komachi turn her head to regard him.

"Ferret," she called out quietly and Naruto met her mask. Komachi had been decidedly cool but still professional about the sudden change in command. "You did extremely well."

"Shut up, idiot," Towa snapped as Naruto managed a tentative smile. "Laying there, talking like you're dying, it's just a stupid cut." He pulled out a needle and thread. "We'll sew it up for now and the medic-nin can look at it when we go back home."

Home.

Naruto remembered what he risked the lives of his comrades for and suddenly found himself feeling conflicted. He loved his Konoha, there was no doubt about it at all. He loved the Third Hokage, the man who had taken hold of him and pulled him out of the pit of loneliness and despair. But he didn't want his teammates to die either.

His tattoo burned again and Naruto watched as Daichi emerged from the water carrying Yuuka. A Sky Shinobi followed him, fingers flicking in ANBU code, and Naruto nodded at the possessed enemy. Daichi quickly bound and gagged the Yamanaka-possessed shinobi and Yuuka released her hold on him. He instantly stiffened but Daichi was there, pressing down on his arm with quick light jabs and sealing off _tenketsu._ Yuuka groaned as she pushed herself up, looking the most tired and fatigued out of them all, but she managed to give Naruto a coy smile and nodded her head respectfully.

The last one to arrive was Kage. He was almost twenty minutes late and arrived as Naruto was beginning to get truly worried. He slunk out of the water, almost invisible even to Naruto's eyes, as tired as the rest. With the whole team here, Naruto stood over the unconscious Sky Nin, keeping guard, and let them huddle together and rested. There would be no sleep but ANBU were particularly adept at going longs hours between short bursts of rest.

Naruto's chakra was as fine as ever but he was mentally exhausted. Still, there was protocol to follow and after a few moments he beckoned Towa to come and guard the Sky Nin while he summoned Enma. The Monkey King looked around, taking note of the exhausted shinobi, and nodded at Naruto in an almost-friendly manner. The crystal ball shone and Naruto made his report.

"Hokage-sama," Naruto began quietly. "We have completed all three objectives. We destroyed the decks of Sky Country's ships, so they shouldn't be able to launch their fighters. Kage infiltrated and wrecked the rudders of the three carriers, so they won't be able to turn around until they get that fixed, and we have an enemy officer here ready for interrogation."

"_Excellent work, Naruto,"_ The Hokage sounded extremely pleased. That almost made the whole thing worth the effort._ "This will make Tenzo's job significantly easier. You have possible saved a great many lives today."  
><em>

Naruto exchanged a quick look with his comrade. Kage nodded at him and the boy felt a weight lift off of his shoulders. "Thank you, sir," he said. He eyed the prisoner. "We haven't interrogated the prisoner yet. I was wondering if you wanted to be on hand while we do so."

"_Yes, I am very interested in what the enemy has to say,"_ the Old Man's voice was as hard as stone and Naruto reflexively winced.

It only took a moment for Yuuka to stir. She popped a solider pill in her mouth and walked over to the prisoner. She knelt down, placing two hands at the side of his head, and concentrated. Naruto watched carefully as the Yamanaka probed the enemy's mind. Of all the intelligence gathering techniques in the world, the Yamanaka were the best at what they did.

Yuuka's eyes fluttered. "I can see flashes…the island where they lived… he grew up with his mother and two sisters…one works as a chef…" she trailed off. "I see the attack on Konoha."

She grew silent.

"Ferret, we have a problem," she called out. Her hands were beginning to glow with a shimmering chakra as she dove deeper and deeper into the enemy's mind. "There's something else… a weapon or a castle or…" she frowned. "It's hard to tell… it's blurry but I think I can- yes! I recognise those two mountain peaks!"

"What does this weapon do?" Naruto questioned. The crystal ball glowed as the Hokage remained quiet.

"Dark Release…" Yuuka trailed off.

"Dark Release?" Kage echoed. "I have never heard of such an elemental affinity. Is it a bloodline?"

"_It's a myth,"_ the Third Hokage's voice interjected. _It's a theoretical concept that explored the idea of the use of human suffering and anguish as a way to generate chakra. There was some significant promise behind it- chakra is made up of physical and mental energies and human emotion can play a very big part in producing chakra- but nothing ever came of it."_

"The weapon is powered by it…" Yuuka murmured quietly. There was a noticeable glare coming from her hands now. "It…this man believes… or has been told… that the weapon could destroy an entire village in a single use."

Naruto felt his blood chill. "No such technique exists," he said quietly.

"_Ah, Naruto."_ The Third Hokage sounded wistful. _"You would be surprised at what exists in this world of ours."_

Yuuka continued to concentrate and Team Sigma watched. Suddenly, the man's eyes shot open and rolled into the back of his skull. He opened his mouth and let out a gut-wrenching scream. Towa uncharacteristically swore and Naruto took a quick step back. Daichi activated his _Byakugan._

"Scatter!" he yelled.

Team Sigma disappeared in a blur of movement as the man continued to scream. Yuuka made to leave but let out a cry and collapsed. Naruto, just about to enter his Body Flicker, darted forward and grabbed her. His eyes flew down at the Sky Nin. Black ink was crawling over his face, expanding in a wave of spirals. He jumped back and propelled himself out of the inlet just as a huge surge of chakra flared from within it.

The inlet disappeared underneath a ball of fire and lifted Naruto and Yuuka up into the air. They soared, coming down over some rocks- but then Enma was there and he grabbed the two of them. As streaks of gold began to zoom towards them from the sky, Team Sigma scattered and fled the area.

* * *

><p>"What happened?" Kage asked quietly as they came to rest in a clearing deep within Fire Country's forest.<p>

"There was a Time-Release Seal," Daichi answered. He bowed his head, the body-stance of the normally enthusiastic man looking apologetic. "Because I blocked his _tenketsu_, it didn't activate in time. He started screaming because the seal malfunctioned." He paused. "It's what saved our lives. I bet that the explosion would have normally occurred the moment Yuuka entered his mind."

Yuuka panted as she lay on the ground. She looked pale. Naruto couched down beside her and gently placed his hand on her forehead. It was covered in sweat and the white masked turned to face him. Behind it, Naruto could imagine the cheeky blonde smiling at him.

"Are you alright?" he asked quietly.

Yuuka nodded. "I left his mind really quickly," she said weakly. "It makes me sick when we do that. Give me some time and I'll be good to go."

"Good," Naruto murmured. "Now, did you see anything else?"

"Two things," she panted. "Names. Shinno. Ancor Vantian. That's all."

Naruto turned to Enma and found the Monkey King eying the Crystal Ball carefully. Naruto was horrified as he saw the giant crack that ran through the centre of it. No light shone from it at all and Enma did not look pleased.

"This was an artefact dating back to days of the roaming Senju clan," the large monkey rumbled. "With this crystal you could buy a whole city- and the lives of everybody in it."

"Can you fix it?" Naruto asked.

"Not here," Enma answered. His yellow eyes came to rest on Naruto. "Perhaps Sarutobi could- in time."

Naruto gritted his teeth.

"Ferret," Komachi said quietly. "What are our orders?"

Naruto wanted to say 'I don't know!'. He wanted to send a messenger monkey to Sarutobi and ask for instructions. However, the more he thought about it the more his frustration at the situation faded. He had worked with the Third Hokage for years and he knew exactly what the Old Man would tell him to do.

"Sorry guys," he said tiredly. "But it looks like we have to move again."

Nobody made a sound.

"If the prisoner was right then there's a dangerous weapon that might destroy Konoha," Naruto said. He raked his hand through his spike blond locks. "Yuuka, you said you recognised where it was?"

Yuuka nodded and pointed it out on Towa's map.

"That's only an hour or so from here," Naruto said grimly. "We'll rest for five minutes then move out. Enma!" he turned to the Monkey King. "Tell the boss where we're going, just in case…"

Enma nodded gravely. "I normally wouldn't allow it but summon me if you need to," he said. He folded his arm and his Leaf Headband glinted. "I will not allow our Village to be destroyed."

"I won't either," Naruto promised firmly.

Enma eyed him. "Huh," he commented. "You just might turn out okay."

He disappeared and Naruto turned back to his tired, wet and cold team. "C'mon, guys," he said with forced enthusiasm. "Let's go save Konoha." He paused. "Again."

"No pressure," Daichi said brightly.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: There was some confusion over the update yesterday- wasn't showing it up. It's there- although if you're reading this one then you've probably found the previous chapter. So yeah. Here's the next part. I've almost finished this arc and then updates will slow. Work starts back in 3 days and I won't have free time and a lack of a social life to spend time writing. Read, Review and let me know what you think.**


	8. Chains of Hatred IV: Counterattack!

**Chains of Hatred IV: Counterattack!**

* * *

><p>The six members of Team Sigma were exhausted.<p>

Their morning had been chaotic.

The afternoon promised to be no better.

At the moment, many of Team Sigma dozed quietly on the backs of man-sized primates. They darted through the trees with just as much proficiency as the ANBU towards their destination. Naruto absentmindedly used his chakra to stick to the warm furry surface of his summon, his eyes closed and his breathing relaxed. The wind rushed past him, ruffling his hair and flapping his cloak, while Naruto and the rest of his Squad took the precious few moments they could to rest and recover. Long shifts and resting where you can were second nature to his ANBU Team, while Naruto had spent many unpleasant nights by the Hokage's side as the old man defied his age and went about his business without a wink of sleep for days on end. Whenever it seemed like he would doze off without permission, Sarutobi whacked him or dumped water over his face. At the time, Naruto had just thought the old man was being his usual sadistic and horrible self. Now, as he put his experience to use, Naruto looked underneath the underneath and appreciated his hellish training even more.

The summons took them a fair way of the distance but even they too started to tire. As they approached their destination, Team Sigma stopped and Naruto thanked the summons gratefully. A little more rested, Naruto led Team Sigma to the coordinates they had received from the enemy officer on foot.

They closer they were, the more apparent it was that there had been an enemy presence in the area. Entire swathes of the forest had been swept aside and black oily smoke rose into the air. Some parts were still alight, the giant trees of Fire Country burning brightly as fire roared through them. There was no sense of reason or logic that Naruto could deduce from the pattern of the burns- it seemed random and chaotic, acts of vandalism and destruction rather than any important strategic goal. There were several villages in the area, small and unimportant towns with populations no greater than a thousand. They made their living off of the forest, harvesting wood and sending it further south via river to Fire Country's trade cities along the Tea-Fire border.

The first village they came across had been utterly destroyed. Small fires were still burning over the large blocky stone buildings. Naruto's fingers darted in ANBU code and with a streak of movement all six of them secured the destroyed village. Naruto stood in the centre of it, his mask hiding his turbulent emotions, as he stared at the large pile of charred and burning corpses in the middle of the town. The smell was acrid and foul and it bought tears to his eyes- at least, that's what Naruto told himself as he walked around the pile quietly, looking at the husks of men, women and children. The village had depended on Konoha for protection and the Leaf had failed them.

The small Chunin Team that had been deployed there- probably for general policing duties- hadn't managed to put up much a fight and the dozen Shinobi had been killed. Their corpse had been torn apart and desecrated, used as target practise and spat on. Naruto could smell urine from one of them and his blood boiled with anger.

"Ferret," Towa muttered but there was a questioning tone to it.

He was trembling, Naruto suddenly realised, and stared down at his hand in abject fascination. His fingers were shaking and he forced them into a first, squeezing them tight. It wasn't fear that swept through his body but a sudden and savage fire of hatred. He wanted to find who did this and he wanted to kill them- slowly and painfully, tearing them piece from piece.

The rest of his team was looking at him now and Naruto closed his eyes. He breathed in deeply, ignoring the smell and bottling his hatred, and he released it on the exhale.

_Shinobi Rule #4: A shinobi must always put the mission first. _

_Shinobi rule #25: A Shinobi must never show emotion._

"Let's go," Naruto said quietly and emotionlessly. They ANBU nodded and disappeared. Towa hesitated and patted the young blond on the back in a somewhat clumsy manner. The two of them disappeared an instant later.

They were well within the coordinates of the target area. It was a huge area and they could have spent a week searching without any luck, even with the _Byakugan_ on their side. However, it wasn't long before Team Sigma came across the next location of significance and rendezvoused with Squad 5 of Gamma Team.

The ground was black. Naruto stared down at the broken and bloodied body of his comrade and watched as Komachi placed a delicate hand on the broken-masked man's neck. A wide blue eye stared back at him as Komachi rose and shook her head silently. Naruto hadn't thought so. Directive seven hadn't been enforced- the bodies of the black-ops unit hadn't been destroyed as protocol dictated. Even a wounded and dying shinobi would have gone of their way to burn the bodies, to stop the enemy from learning the secrets of the Village.

Naruto felt somebody behind him and turned.

"We found three more," Yuuka said quietly. Her voice was sombre. "Most were killed in combat. One was still alive when they took him. It seems that they performed a battlefield interrogation. It was messy but there's still enough left for me to have a look."

"Go," Naruto ordered.

Yuuka nodded and disappeared.

Naruto took a deep breath and his hands flipped through seals. He raised them and blazing cone of flame swept from his palm and gently enveloped his comrade. The blue eye continued to stare at him unblinkingly as fire began to consume the body. Naruto turned.

There were other comrades to attend to.

Sometime later, Team Sigma met up at the base of a large tree. Kunai were scattered over the ground and there was a splotch of blood that was still dripping from large fern leafs that grew up and around the trunk. There was no hesitation in Naruto's stance or voice anymore and his mind had hardened to stone, unable to deal with the horrors of what he had seen.

Naruto would shelve them and deal with them later.

"From what I found it seemed as if Squad 5 was trying to link up with Captain Uzuki," Yuuka reported. "They were patrolling the border along Tea Country when they received an urgent message to return and regroup. They were on their way to meet up with Uzuki but they were ambushed."

"Captain Uzuki must have found something," Kage said quietly. Of all the ANBU, he seemed the most unaffected by what he had seen. "She couldn't have known about the Sky Country Fleet, so there must be something else here that drew her attention."

"I have the coordinates that Uzuki gave Bird-3," Yuuka said, referring to Squad 5's former leader. "It's close."

"Right then," Naruto said and he turned. His voice was flat. "We have a new secondary objective- to locate any other survivors of Gamma Team. Our primary objective remains- locate whatever weapon Sky Country has and destroy it. Go."

Six figures blurred out of the clearing.

* * *

><p>The wind whipped past him as Tenzo clutched onto the feathers of the hawk beneath him. It was a large bird, a <em>Class 3-Summon<em> with dark brown feathers and sharp yellow eyes. Behind him crouched eight of his subordinates, their white masks emotionless. Tenzo nodded and glanced around, seeing the other five summons soaring beside him. It had been a long trip and Tenzo knew that some of his men would be tired- chakra adhesion techniques could be quite draining. Nonetheless, his destination was rapidly approaching and soon they would dismount and fight.

Judging from the copious amount of smoke rising into the air, the enemy may have been a little bloodied already.

The hawks skimmed over the tops of the trees, their talons rustling the foliage, and Tenzo raised his hand. The ANBU around him waited for his signal and, at his mark, dropped off the hawk and disappeared silently into the forest below. Tenzo followed them, letting go of the feathery neck of his hawk and flipping over backwards. The wind howled in his ears and the ground rushed to meet him before the ANBU captain righted and landed silently on a large tree branch.

The hawks dove down into the forest and disappeared with large puffs of smoke. Tenzo hadn't seen any long-range enemy patrols and was hoping that the foliage of the forest around them would keep the dispersion of the summons hidden. He raised a hand and made a few signs. The ANBU formed into their Squads, Tenzo's own coming to crouch before him. They darted from tree branch to tree branch as Tenzo led them towards the distant sound of crashing waves.

Towards the enemy.

* * *

><p>Team Sigma came across more burning villages as they trekked across Fire Country's southern fields. They all bore similarities to the first one they had inspected. There were hundreds of kunai littering the empty streets and burning homes, fired haphazardly and in greater numbers at great speed. Large craters and pits adorned the surface of the ruined towns, pockmarked craters signifying where explosive spheres had detonated. Fires blazed unchallenged. Smoke filled the sky with a black haze.<p>

Bodies burned.

They found more Konoha Nin, Chunin given the task of guarding and policing the towns they had been assigned to. Some had put up a fight and bore defensive wounds. A few had even managed to kill their attackers or so the debris seemed to suggest. Most had not. Most had died quickly, surprised and tactically disadvantaged against their flying foes.

Some had taken a little while longer to die.

The fires of hatred in Naruto's belly were stoked with every desecrated and tortured corpse he came across. There was no time to dispose of the dead. Bodies were left where they were to burn, men, women and children disappearing under the flames. But for every town they scouted it became more and more apparent that there were survivors.

"I patrolled through here once," Daichi said quietly

The group had paused to stare at a large stack of bodies piled indiscriminately together at the centre of the town. There was no fire here- perhaps the enemy hadn't had time or perhaps they wanted to leave a message. Either way, it gave Team Sigma the first opportunity to truly gage the number of fallen.

"This town had a significantly bigger population than what remains here," Kage murmured.

There were several hundred broken and battered bodies.

"Perhaps they escaped?" Yuuka offered quietly.

"Unlikely," Komachi spoke up. "We would have seen tracks or signs of them during our search."

"Perhaps the enemy took them," Towa suggested. '

It was not a pleasant thought. It would be better to have died with their families and friends, safe from the careless brutality that the Sky Nin had shown. Naruto frowned and they pressed on.

They found more signs of fighting. A team of Konoha Shinobi had been conducting a mission in the area and had gone out fighting. Huge strips of the forest had been torn apart by the force of explosive notes and a series of deep-puncturing scorch marks that bore the signs of a Lightning Release technique. Intense fighting had occurred a little further down the track and there was still chakra laden in the air. There were no bodies but smoke and ash filled the air and there were burn patterns against a tree trunk that suggested that a body had been disposed of here.

More ANBU had been killed. Some had lived to dispose of the bodies.

The landscape was beginning to change as they approached farmlands. Flat open plains dotted the surface between large swathes of forest. Stone ruins jutted out from between rice paddocks, ancient ruins from wars long past. There were no signs of the farmers and the farmhouses were mysteriously deserted. There was no sign of forced entry or an attack- the occupants had simply vanished. As they scouted the surrounding area, searching for signs of Gamma Team or the Weapon, Kage paused and stiffened.

His hands flashed- _invaders, due west, closing in, 2 clicks_- and Team Sigma scattered, diving into the forest and setting up defensive positions. Naruto gave the signal to hold and waited. His emotions were turbulent underneath his stony and hard exterior, chipped as it was, and he couldn't help baring his teeth up into an unseen and angry snarl.

Wait for the Enemy.

Attack the Enemy.

Capture the Enemy

Interrogate the Enemy.

_Dispose _of the Enemy.

Yes, Naruto decided grimly. He liked that plan- and suddenly his ANBU tattoo burned and his hatred was gone in an instant as a squad of white-masked dark-cloaked blurs shot into the forest. Naruto pressed his finger on his tattoo and pressed it while holding up his hand and giving the signal to hold position. He used the Body Flicker and appeared before the leader of the new group of shinobi.

"Identify," he said roughly, tense and alert.

The lead ANBU cocked his head. "Mantis," he replied blankly. "We are responding to Gamma Team's Captain Uzuki Yugao's request for priority assistance. Identify."

"Ferret," Naruto replied. "Team Sigma."

Mantis cocked his head. "Sigma?" he echoed. "You are out of your operational jurisdiction, Sigma. Elaborate."

Naruto frowned behind his mask. "My orders come from the Hokage," he said firmly.

"Very well," Mantis conceded. "Where is Captain Uzuki?"

Naruto stared at the new group for a second. While they had confirmed that they were indeed ANBU- nobody in Konoha's history had ever cracked the _Fuinjutsu_ written into the ANBU tattoos- there was something about Mantis that put him on edge. Nevertheless, he raised a hand and the rest of Team Sigma appeared behind him.

"Uzuki is Missing in Action," Naruto said quietly. He drew himself up. "Gamma Team is scattered, presumed dead."

"The culprit?" Mantis asked quietly and without emotion.

"Sky Country," Naruto explained as the two groups of ANBU settled around each other. "They've worked their way through the area, burning villages and murdering civilians. They use chakra and machines to fly and launched an attack on Konoha."

There was no discernible reaction to the news.

"Point of origin?" the other squad leader asked.

"The Sea of Whirlpools," Naruto replied grimly. "There are two combat platoons on their way to take them out. Our Intel suggested that the enemy had a weapon in this area capable of destroying Konoha. We're on our way to locate and destroy it."

"I see," Mantis said. His voice and tone was still the same and suddenly Naruto found it really irritating. He sort of wanted to shake the other man by the shoulder and see what would happen. Mantis seemed to be thinking. "Very well. We will render assistance."

Naruto raised his eyebrows at that. "You will," he said quietly. "Team Sigma has point and a current priority-one status. Your former mission is suspended- you are drafted under Team Sigma's command and will assist us."

"Very well," Mantis said with a short but respectful nod. "Ferret has command."

"What's your team designation?" Naruto asked as the two Squad Leaders rose up from the ground.

"Classified," Mantis replied shortly. "I am unable to disclose any information about our former mission and current classification. I apologise."

Naruto was sceptical at that. He eyed the new ANBU closely and sent a pulse of chakra through his tattoo. Almost immediately he felt the return pulses, five beats of unique chakra patterns responding in unison. With a shrug, Naruto decided that whatever mission that was so secret that even he as the Hokage's Personal Assistant didn't know anything about was none of his business anyway. He was just glad for the extra firepower that the new ANBU Squad would bring with them.

The ground rumbled.

Naruto paused. Mantis cocked his head.

The ground rumbled again and Naruto swivelled his head around. The trees were shaking and far beneath the surface of the ground a terrible groan echoed. The ground shuddered again and before Naruto's eyes large chunks of earth rose up. Roots were exposed and torn apart, trees split apart and fell and a loud hum filled the air. The various stone ruins around them started to flicker and glow with purple bolts of energy. Something big was coming, something vast, and Naruto could feel the pressure in the air abruptly shift.

"Ferret!" Daichi yelled over the din. He gestured. "The ground has just lit up with chakra! There's something coming!"

With a loud crash the last of the trees bent and snapped a large geyser of dirt exploded before them. The ANBU team ducked as stone and dirt was blasted all around them and Naruto watched with nothing less than complete wonderment as the filthy stone ruins that littered the countryside began to lift up in the air. Purple energy cascaded over them, stripping them of dirty crust and revealing gleaming white marble and stone underneath. They rose into the air and it became apparent that they were all connected. Blank-faced monuments appeared from the surface of the earth, gazing down at the world around them imperiously and with a start Naruto recognised the designs from the Fleet.

_:Sky Country_, he signed over the noise. He hesitated for a single moment but there was no time to consider the possible ramifications of his orders. His instincts told him what to do next and he obeyed. _Jump!_

The two ANBU squads darted forward, jumping between falling pieces of rock and fallen lumber as they sped towards the rising object. It was slowly revealing itself to be a fortress, armoured and decorated with the same designs that the Sky Country Fleet had. It was bigger than the ships, though, at least twice as tall and five times as wide as a single Sky Carrier. The fortress slowly rose up into the air, tearing free from its last bonds that held it chained to the ground. The roots of Fire Country's gigantic trees were torn apart and began to fall to the ground. Eleven dark blurs shot up the falling roots and leapt up to the side of the fortress as it rose into the sky.

* * *

><p>Tenzo watched from the cliffs at the condition of the enemy. Team Sigma had certainly done their jobs well. The fleet was idling in the middle of the bay, coils of smoke rising into the air. He peered into his binoculars, seeing patches of blackened metal and stone where explosive tags had detonated. The decks of each ship had been torn to pieces but there were already a significant number of Sky Nin circling around the fleet. There must have been another way to launch the Fliers from the ships, although it must be slower than using the deck.<p>

He drew in his Squad Captains and began to devise a plan of attack.

* * *

><p>Ancor Vantian arose from its slumber.<p>

It was more than an aircraft. It was a fortress, a flying fortress. Stone and iron towers rose into the sky, the largest settled in the very centre of the stronghold. Large stone faces had been carved into the sides of the fortress, blank and emotionless visages who stared down at the world with indifference and superiority. The largest of this face was at the front of the massive flying fortress, built on top of a circular archway that led from the very depths of the stronghold. On the back two large protrusions, looking quite similar to oversized magnets, glowed with black light as massive amounts of chakra was poured into them. Roots dangled down from the stone and concrete towers, stowaways from the fortress' sudden ascension.

Foliage and dirt were not the only stowaways.

On one of the outer towers, eleven black specks clung to the stone with chakra as they slowly scaled their way up the building. Naruto climbed next to Daichi, paying very careful attention to what he was doing. Chakra warmed his hands and feet as he used it to stick to the surface of the stone and drag himself up, inch by inch. It would have been much easier for the group to simply climb up with their feet but the sudden emergence of that much chakra would have made the group easier to spot- especially given where they were.

Daichi continued to look up with narrowed veined eyes, his_ Byakugan _active. The Hyuuga kept a keen eye on the pair of Sky Nin standing on the balcony just above them. He nodded quietly to Mantis and Kage, who each pulled themselves up to the bottom of the alcoves stone floor. Naruto gave Yuuka the signal and Towa and Komachi grabbed the blonde-haired Yamanaka woman as she let go of the wall to make a hand-seal.

_Mind-Body Switch Technique_

Yuuka went limp, held up in the air by Towa and Komachi. Naruto waited for a few moments and signalled Kage and Mantis. The two shinobi pressed up against the balcony floor and the blond ANBU heard a soft gasp and then nothing. He smiled vindictively underneath his mask as Daichi gave the all clear and signalled the ANBU Squads to move. He flipped over onto the balcony and stood up.

A Sky Nin stared back at him with amusement, ignoring the fate of his partner as Kage and Mantis gently lowered the body to the ground. As Daichi, Towa and Komachi vaulted over, bringing Yuuka's body with them, Mantis made a hand-seal and pressed down on the Sky Nin's corpse. It began to gently sink into the stone and disappeared without a trace. Naruto turned to Daichi as Yuuka motioned for Kage and Mantis to prepare to dispose of the body she was possessing.

"What can you see?" He asked. There was a thud behind him and Yuuka's eyes suddenly shot open.

Daichi frowned. "I…don't know what I'm seeing," he admitted. "There's an immense chakra source at the centre of the fortress. It's running through the entire stronghold, through every building and hallway. There's so much of it…" He shook his head.

"I wonder how they managed to build this right in our own territory," Yuuka mused. She shook her head, her blonde ponytail bobbing up and down. "I don't understand how nobody saw this."

"It came from underneath the ground," Mantis observed indifferently. Nothing in his body suggested that he was concerned. "It's likely they either built it or resurrected it in secret, away from patrols and shinobi."

"The farms," Kage muttered darkly. "They were abandoned, not attacked, and the occupants had had enough time to pack up their belongings…"

"Plants, perhaps?" Komachi wondered thoughtfully.

"Regardless," Towa said firmly. "It's here now. Can't we worry about that later? Because, I have to admit, I'm more worried about the 'weapon'."

His words paused the group.

"It's a flying fortress, certainly formidable, but hardly a weapon," Kage noted. He glanced around. "Perhaps the weapon is inside."

"There's enough chakra here to…" Daichi trailed off. He ran a hand through his short cropped hair. "I dunno, man. I've never seen so much chakra…and it's so dark. It almost makes me sick looking at it."

Those words made Naruto hesitate.

"Is it human?" he asked quietly. "The chakra, I mean."

Daichi faltered. "Perhaps not," he admitted softly.

There was a tense silence. Mantis and his squad were unmoving with Team Sigma considered each other grimly.

"A tailed beast?" Komachi asked quietly.

"They're all accounted for," Kage said, shaking his head.

Nobody asked him how he knew that. Nobody was looking at Naruto, either.

"Do you see anything else?" Naruto asked Daichi, desperately wanting to break the sudden tension that had filled the air.

Daichi scanned the fortress with his _Byakugan_. "I think…I see rows of chakra sources," he said, squinting. "It's faint- the other chakra is just everywhere- but I _think_ one of them might by Captain Uzuki."

Mantis shifted. "We cannot let the enemy acquire an ANBU Captain," he said stonily. "The information she holds is too valuable."

"There are safeguards," Towa said. "Seals that stop Captains from speaking."

"Protocol dictates that they should have already activated," Mantis said stiffly. "If that is Uzuki then she is still alive. Directive 7 must be implemented at all costs."

Naruto felt his team draw up around him at that declaration. Even Kage's body language was suddenly radiating wariness. Despite the horrendous nature of it, Naruto could see the other Squad Leader's brutal logic. He slowly nodded and felt his team twitch around him.

"I agree," Naruto said softly. He took a deep breath and held his stony façade. "I will take Team Sigma and implement Directive 7. If possible, we will extract the Captain. If we're unable to, we will implement Directive 7. Mantis, take your team to the centre of the fortress and destroy the chakra source that powers the building."

Mantis nodded.

"We'll meet up at the source of the chakra if we can. If we can't, destroy the fortress and scatter." Naruto finished. He took in a deep breath, reviewing his orders. "Let's go."

* * *

><p>The long stone corridors of the fortress were mostly deserted. Team Sigma darted through them silently, black streaks against the flickering lights. A strange hum had settled over them, the sounds of the engines keeping Naruto from being distracted by his thoughts. So far the eleven ANBU had remained undetected. Team Mantis, for lack of a better designation, would have to be closing in on the centre of the fortress soon. Naruto wondered what they would find- from what he had heard and read and the long talks he had had with the Third Hokage he couldn't really picture one of the tailed beasts being here. Konoha, like all of the Great Villages, made a point of securing intelligence about the Jinchuuriki. It was always essential to know where they were and what they were doing and, to a point, they were all accounted for.<p>

Daichi, who had point, raised a hand and signalled them. Naruto nodded and gestured at the rest of his team. Sprinting forward, the ANBU Team whizzed around the corner in a flash and had jumped on the three unaware Sky Nin in a flash. Komachi went high, her hands flicking as she used her senbon and wire to restrain all three shinobi. It would have only taken them a second but Kage, Towa and Naruto were there, sharp blades tearing through vulnerable flesh and ending their life in an instant. Naruto was breathing deeply, practically straining on the tips of his toes as his kunai withdrew from the back of the taller man's skull. He gently lowered the corpse onto the ground and watched Yuuka wove a _Genjutsu._ It sprung around the corridor, invisible streams of chakra wafting in the air. A single touch on the skin and the average Shinobi wouldn't even toss a second glance to the piles of bodies stacked to the side.

They moved on, occasionally coming across unaware patrols or off-duty Sky Nin. Naruto worked with the others and ended their lives cleanly and quietly. Many conflicts were over in seconds and the young blond ANBU mused that once their technology and aerial advantage was taken away from them the Sky Nin were truly nothing special.

_:Ahead. A dozen plus two over two levels:_ Daichi signed.

Team Sigma crouched around the single door, waiting. Hands quickly flashed in a series of short odd movements of the fingers as the team communicated to each other and Naruto gave out his orders. With a final nod, Naruto tensed and prepared himself. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath and settling his emotions. His chakra coiled and pulsed in his body as he turned his head and nodded shortly at Daichi. The Hyuuga ran a finger the hinges and pushed the door open. It swung open silently.

Naruto dove into the room and appeared in the centre with a flash. They had entered a large chamber, with two long tables stacked with food and equipment. Past the chamber on both levels was a long corridor filled with cell-doors. There were two levels, a set of stairs on either side leading to the upper level, which consisted of a series of metal catwalks that crisscrossed over the cells and hallways. There was half-a-dozen Sky Nin laughing and lazing around the tables, the rest were standing as guards or deeper within the cells.

The ANBU team moved in without any hesitation. Naruto pressed down on the ground, enhancing his muscles and limbs with chakra and pushed. He soared through the air, landing neatly on the crosswalk above him. Daichi and Komachi appeared beside him and together they darted for the surprised and unsuspecting Sky Nin.

Below them, Kage and Towa tore through their enemies. Towa was wielding a glowing crimson mace as he expertly used it to crush through the startled enemy's defences. An arm snapped, the man howled and Towa raised his weapon. It flashed- the mace became a hand axe- and Towa brought it down and cleaved the man's skull in half. Yuuka, her hands twisted in a sign, wove a _Genjutsu_ that sent three shinobi to their knees with the hands clasped over their ears, screaming incoherently. Kage ended them a split-second later, the man quickly and efficiently landing short, sharp fatal blows with a dull black machete. A second later, the enigmatic Squad Captain was darting through the lower level of the cells and launched at the first enemy he saw.

Above them, Naruto twirled and dodged as he fought three men at once. Their hand-to-hand was mediocre at best and they were no match for his superior speed. What he lacked in strength he made up for with a kunai, a blade at the end of a short, sharp vicious jab sliding between the ribs. He formed a sign and shadow clones formed around him, each holding a kunai. The first appeared crouching and lashed out in a horizontal arc, puncturing the kneecap. The second appeared on the Sky Nin's right, his kunai swinging up and into the man's elbow. The third appeared above the now immobilised opponent and brought his down in a two-handed blow that sent the blade right through the man's eye-socket.

The fourth appeared above the last Sky Nin's head, who remained unaware and raised his weapon. The large burly man brought down the butt of his kunai launcher and cracked Naruto's skull open. The blonde ANBU gurgled then disappeared in a puff of smoke- the replacement was successful- as Naruto appeared where the fourth shadow clone had been and dropped down on the other man's back. He held a long piece of wire in his hands and coiled it around the Sky Nin's throat. He was off the man's back in a second and holding two kunai attached to either end of the wire, he tossed them towards his earlier clones. Two of them darted forward, grabbed each end and threw themselves off of the railing. The wire scraped against the metal bars and the improvised noose around the Sky Nin's neck tightened. Something snapped but Naruto paid it no mind, forming a sign and sending sleek flash of bright-white fire from his hands at the next enemy.

With Daichi twirling around him, delivering short and graceful jabs, and Komachi pinpointing enemy vital points with her unnerving accuracy and subtle but dangerous water techniques, the fight was over in less than a minute. His blood racing, his hands clenched and panting, Naruto stood amongst the bloodied corpses of his enemies and felt nothing but numbness. Daichi, Towa and Kage covered the exit as Naruto pressed through the cell chambers. They reeked of blood and pain and suffering but the frightened occupants- men, women and children of Fire Country judging by their clothing- seemed unharmed.

Naruto wondered who had been the previous inhabitants before them.

They came across a large cell at the end of the hallway. Komachi kicked the door open and Yuuka and Naruto darted through the rom. It took all of his conditioning not to gag and lose his rations at the smell that awaited him. Urine, sweat, blood and the rest assaulted his senses. Flesh rotted and flies buzzed around them. Blood splattered the walls of the interrogation chambers, half-dissected and tortured men and women lay on benches around them. In the centre was a rack, where Naruto saw a purple-haired woman strapped to it. Perhaps she had been pretty once, even beautiful. Now, her face was swollen and bloodied, her teeth cracked and some missing. Her clothes were mere tatters, hiding nothing of her bruised and beaten body. Naruto saw a bone protruding from her arm, white fragments embedded in the skin around it. He smelt the odour of body waste and heard the short, rattling breaths that the woman was making.

"Captain!" Yuuka hissed. She darted over to the woman and knelt by her. "Uzuki!"

Yugao opened her eyes blearily. There was unbridled panic and fear within them. Naruto held a hand to his tattoo and sent a pulse through it. Yugao's eyes went wide and suddenly her eyes were glistening, her tense body relaxing instantly. Yuuka undid her binds and raised her hands. Glowing green light poured off of them as Yuuka began to treat the Captain's wounds.

"…suffering…" Yugao's voice was croaky. Naruto paused from surveying the tortured fates of the corpses in the room. Most of them looked like Leaf Nin, although there were none that he personally recognised. "Human suffering…our suffering…the fuel…"

Something the Hokage had said flicked through his mind.

"Dark chakra?" He muttered and knelt down by the Captain's side. "The create chakra using negative emotions- is that what this is?"

"Suffering…" Yugao trailed off.

Abruptly, she lashed out with her good arm and gripped Naruto tightly. The young ANBU winced at the sudden strength, feeling her fingers dig into his forearm. She stared into his mask and Naruto felt as if she was looking past the thick ceramic plate and into his eyes.

"I didn't break!" she hissed dangerously. Yuuka's hands were shaking as she ran them up and down the Captain. "I didn't break! Do you understand? I didn't break!"

Naruto gently took her hand and she let go of him. His voice raw, he nodded once and gently lowered her hand back into her lap.

"I understand, Captain Uzuki," he said roughly. "You followed Directive 5 in the line of Duty. Well done."

Yugao nodded blearily and her head lolled back. She appeared very tired all of a sudden and her last words were whispers.

"I didn't break…" she whispered. "I listened…let them talk…they're not very well trained…I didn't break." She paused. "The Zero-Tailed Demon Worm!" she hissed.

"The what?" Naruto's eyes shot up behind his mask. "Captain?"

Yugao just shook her head. Colour was beginning to return to her cheeks as Yuuka's medical techniques began to take effect. Naruto watched as the Captain wobbled to her feet, looking unsteady and gripping the side of the rack tightly. Naruto reached down and unstrapped a bandage from his thigh. He helped wrap it around her broken arm and used a kunai and a piece of wire to create a makeshift splint.

"I don't know what it is," Yugao said after a few moments. Her voice was considerably stronger and her face had hardened over. "I don't remember much," she confessed. "I blanked out for most of my imprisonment. But I heard that term being used- the Zero-Tailed Demon Worm."

Naruto was silent, his mind racing, as Yuuka finished wrapping her bandages around Yugao's leg and stood. "I've patched you up but you're not combat-ready," she said quietly. "The pain meds aren't going to last very long."

"Captain," Naruto's tone was respectful. "By order of the Third Hokage, Team Sigma has command on this mission." He raised his hand, flipped through some seals and summoned a small chittering monkey. "Yuuka, take notes. Captain, please tell me everything you know."

* * *

><p>It started slowly at first, water vapour rising from the surface of the ocean and rising up towards the sky. It slowly spread across the Sky Country Fleet, enshrouding each of the ships and engulfing the view of the men and women on board with a sea of white. It hung there, unmoving, as the Water Release experts from two ANBU Platoons manipulated the vapour of the water until they had created a rolling wave of fog that had blanketed out the sky. It only took moments for the Sky Nin on board to realise that the fog was unnatural and alarms and bells began to blare.<p>

On the shore of the Sea of Whirlpools, Tenzo watched and waited. Once the fog had completely shrouded the fleet and he raised his arm and bought it down. Two dozen blurs streaked past him, dashing across the water and diving underneath the surface. Tenzo bought his hands together and moulded his chakra.

_Wood Release: World of Trees Wall!_

He slammed his hands down on the ground and channelled his 'inherited' powers into the ground. The ground shuddered as countless wooden branches sprouted from the dirt from behind him, interlacing and forming a wide net-like wall. They towered over him as Tenzo expended considerable chakra to grow them. He finished his technique and allowed the net to tower over him as he raced through the next set of hand signs.

_Wood Release: Great Forest Technique!_

Tenzo thrust his arm forward and suppressed a grimace as the tissue of his right arm was transformed into wood at a cellular level- a wholly unpleasant situation. He brought his hand forward and the wood in his arm suddenly shot forward towards the beach. It skimmed over the water, broadened and disappeared into the mist. The targets were stationary and it was unlikely that they would have moved in the last few moments. Tenzo continued his technique until he felt a jolt. He adjusted his stance and dug his feet into the ground.

"Squads one through four- move out!" he barked.

Twenty white-masked and black-cloaked ANBU jumped onto the bridge and sprinted along the wood towards the mist. Straining somewhat under the use of chakra, Tenzo brought his other arm up and manipulated the net of branches behind him. With a sudden burst of movement they vaulted over his head and formed a makeshift roof- or shield- over the bridge. He almost immediately felt shudders as the first sounds of explosives and whizzing kunai arose in the air- the Sky Nin almost immediately preparing a defence.

The rest of the ANBU had deployed further up and down the coast, boxing in the fleet and flanking them from all directions. It left Tenzo and his squad on the beach alone, his teammates surrounding him on all sides in a defensive formation. Fliers burst out of the mist, rapidly firing kunai from the mechanical objects in their hands. The shield jolted but Tenzo held it firm. Kunai lacked the penetrating power to crack through the toughened wood and even the explosives merely glanced off of it.

The enemy had realised this and a squad of the Fliers dove past the oncoming ANBU and veered straight for Tenzo. His teammates tensed but Tenzo held firm and watched with no-little satisfaction as loud cries pierced through the air and a flash of brown feathers slammed into them. The hawks were bigger, tougher and knew only loyalty to the Leaf and they tore the Sky Nin apart with their razor-sharp beaks. A large explosion resounded from inside the mist, and then another, and Tenzo nodded to two of his teammates. They lowered their hands and the mist began to rise. Soon the fleet was visible, fresh smoke billowing out into the sky as the ANBU Platoons tore through them and their guards. Large clouds of insects swarmed through the sky as three Aburame sent their _kikaichu_ up into the scattered formations of the Sky Nin. Their machines, which needed a certain balance of chakra to operate, powered down and plummeted helplessly down to the ocean floor as the chakra-devouring insects swarmed over them.

It was going well, just as Tenzo had calculated. However, he frowned as he saw one of the Carriers veering away from the battle. Explosions detonated all around it as the Sky Nin on-board used their full armament to keep the advancing ANBU at bay. Either Team Sigma hadn't been able to sabotage the ship's rudder as well as the others or they had made good progress on the emergency repairs, Tenzo didn't know. He was just about to inform his Yamanaka teammate to pass on new orders when a large cloud of smoke suddenly appeared behind the ship. A loud crack filled the air and suddenly something appeared, twice as tall as the carrier and infinitely meaner. The giant toad, its slit-eyes gazing down at the Carrier, reached for its gigantic gleaming blade and swept it across the carrier. It tore through the hull like a warm knife through butter, sending electrical sparks and debris everywhere.

The _Class-5_ summon, one of the three gargantuan warrior of the Toad Clan, croaked contently and Tenzo could make out a small figure perched on its head, arms folded across his chest.

"Jiraiya!" Tenzo breathed.

His calculations would be wrong- this battle would be over much, much quicker than he had anticipated. With the power of one of the Legendary Three and a _Class-5_ summon, Sky Country had no chance.

The counterattack had been a complete victory.

* * *

><p>Naruto helped Yugao limp out of the interrogation cell even as the Captain continued to quietly tell her story to Yuuka. He kept an ear out as the pieces began to fall into place. Yugao had noticed increased movement in the area during her standard patrol and had come to investigate. What she had found was an unknown enemy razing the local villages and towns, one after the other, capturing some of the populace and slaughtering the rest. Messengers had been sent- perhaps they had been intercepted or perhaps they would be arriving at a battered Konoha soon. She had called for all Squads to converge on the areas and had begun launching guerrilla attacks against the invaders.<p>

They had done well in the first hour or so, decimating the enemy as they had landed to loot and pillage the towns they had just burned. The Sky Nin were extremely capable in the air and specialised in the use of tools and weaponry to a great degree. On the ground, against the force of ANBU hand-to-hand and _ninjutsu _training, they had hardly been a threat. Unfortunately, the Sky Nin had had sheer numbers and an aerial advantage and soon it was a game of cat-and-mouse between the two forces- one that Yugao had lost in the end as the Commander of Sky Country had entered the field.

The man, elderly with white hair and yellow eyes, had torn through the ANBU like they had been _Genin_. Yugao was an ANBU Captain and one of the elite- definitely one of the top twenty in Konoha. She had fought fiercely as her squad retreated through the forest but the Commander had been just as fast, skilled and deadly as the ANBU. Her squad killed, she had been captured for interrogation.

She hadn't gone into the details and Naruto didn't really want to know.

Naruto helped her limp out from the cells and his squad formed around him. Naruto's thoughts raced. There were at least a hundred prisoners in the cells- although Yugao had said there had been many more in the early hours of her imprisonment. Technically, his mission and the safety of the Leaf Village superseded everything. Naruto could leave them there and let them burn along with the rest of the flying fortress after they had destroyed the weapon. The Hokage wouldn't fault him nor would anybody in ANBU.

He couldn't. His heart wrenched at the thought of allowing the helpless that he had been sworn to defend die when he could have helped them. He took a deep breath and made his decision.

"Daichi," he said quietly. The Hyuuga looked at him, his body language quizzical. "The upper decks we passed- those large flying vessels- could you fly them now that you've seen how the chakra works?"

Daichi considered it. "I could," he said. He chuckled and scratched his head. "Well, I could glide it, I think. Landing could be rough," he admitted. "But hey, look on the bright side- we can land."

"Land and crash have two very different definitions," Yuuka muttered.

She had popped a soldier pill, as had most of the others, and was looking much fresher. Still, that was two soldier spills in the span of a day. Team Sigma would be feeling it tomorrow.

"We're going to split up," Naruto decided and there was no hesitation in his voice. He had made his decision. "Kage, you're in command of Daichi and Captain Uzuki. You'll free the prisoners and take them to the upper decks. Daichi will steal one of the transports and you'll load them in. Wait for us there."

Daichi flashed a thumbs-up at Kage, who merely scoffed at the exuberant Hyuuga.

Naruto paused. "If…if you come under attack and you can't hold, evacuate." He said quietly. "If that happens, or we don't show up, you'll be in command of Team Sigma until the Hokage decrees otherwise. Understood?"

Kage nodded fractionally.

"The rest of us will link up with Team Mantis and destroy the chakra source of the fortress," Naruto finished. He left out that he had no idea on exactly how to do just that.

The Zero-Tailed Demon Worm.

He had never heard of it but that was the world of shinobi. Information was the most powerful asset a shinobi could possess. If Sky Country had indeed captured an unknown tailed-beast then it was likely that they could use its immense chakra to power their flying fortress. However, everything Naruto had heard about the Tailed Beasts told him one thing: they did _not_ like being confined.

There were stories from other Villages when Tail Beasts had broken their bindings. They had never been nice stories.

With that thought in mind, Naruto stood. Kage and Daichi began organising the prisoners as Yugao watched, while Towa, Komachi and Yuuka formed up around him. With one last wave farewell, Team Sigma split and Naruto led his group out of the cells and back towards where they had come.

After a few moments, the alarms began to blare. Naruto and his squad paused as they surveyed the area. It was just another deserted hallway, cracked and faded stone walls like the rest. He glanced at Komachi, who shook her head.

"Mantis has been found out," Towa noted grimly.

"Let's go," Naruto said shortly.

* * *

><p>They dashed through the hallways, navigating the somewhat confusing labyrinth by relying on Komachi's above-average chakra sensing skills and listening for the sounds of distant fighting. Tremors were running through the wall as they got closer to their destination. There was no need for secrecy anymore and their weariness had vanished in the wake of adrenaline. They met light resistance and tore through them with well-practised ease, the average Sky Nin no match for the well-trained ANBU squad.<p>

The sounds of fighting grew louder and louder and resistance began to increase as they got closer to where Team Mantis was advancing. Naruto sent a powerful array of _Shuriken Shadow Clone_ into a pair of Sky Nin and entered the main hallway where the battle was taking place. Mantis and his Squad were pressing forward against dozen of Sky Nin, kunai launchers and explosions tearing through the walls. Perhaps it had just been one corridor to begin with but the fighting had widened it dramatically. Naruto's squad joined up with Team Mantis and Naruto sidled up to the other Squad Leader.

"We will hold here," Mantis said calmly, despite his bleeding shoulder. He jerked his head. "Down that corridor there seems to be a large room with podium. Beyond that podium is a central shaft where I believe the chakra is emanating from. I only caught a glimpse."

Naruto digested the information.

"We will provide cover for your retreat once you have completed the mission," Mantis ducked gracefully underneath a hail of kunai as a wall of hardened earth rose from the stone floor, blocking the rest.

Naruto thumped the man on the back and signalled his squad. Mantis watched and signalled his men. On his count, they all withdrew behind the wall and formed hand-seals. Chakra surged through the air as each member of Team Mantis stood up and moulded powerful flame techniques. The air howled as the fire billowed out in all directions around them, forcing the advancing Sky Nin to retreat or duck for cover.

Naruto nodded once to Mantis and his team jumped from cover in a blur. They paused, molding chakra for the _Body Flicker Technique_, and flickered to the other side of the hall. The fires were beginning to retreat as Naruto and his squad made his way past the beleaguered defenders and slipped into the passageway that had been indicated.

Their feet pelted along the ground and his heart roared in his chest. His veins were alive with chakra and adrenaline as the squad of four darted through the empty corridor. They approached a set of double doors and stormed through them in a single push.

They entered a large room and halted. Blank-faced statues lined the columns on either side as, up on the podium and seated in a throne-like chair, a white-haired man with ornate robes peered down at them imperiously. His face looked amused but yellow eyes revealed his emotions- loathing and anger and disgust and a thousand other emotions all melded together into an unquenchable hatred. Behind him was the shaft that Mantis had mentioned and a deep dark light emanated from the very centre of it. Naruto recognised the man from the descriptions Captain Uzuki had given him.

It was the Commander of the Sky Nin- the man responsible for the attack on Konoha and the murder, pillage and razing of the outlying towns and villages in the region. Hatred like he had never felt before towards anybody rose up in his chest like there was a monster squirming to get out. Naruto wanted nothing more than to dart forwards and _cut_ that damnable smirk of the elderly man's face.

"I am Shinno," the man said quietly. His yellow eyes watched them keenly as the ANBU spread out below him. "I am the Lord of the Land of Sky, Commander-in-Chief of the Village Hidden in the Winds. Who are you to come into my domain?"

"Ferret, Team Sigma," Naruto replied shortly. He spoke the next words as rote. "You have declared war on Fire Country and Konoha. Surrender and mercy may be shown," he added at the end unconvincingly.

Shinno smiled and chuckled in amusement. Both he and Naruto knew that there would be no such thing. Naruto's hand clenched around his kunai and his chakra began to race through his body.

It was time to end this war.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: What was meant to be the last chapter turned into the second last chapter. So yeah, enjoy. **


	9. Chains of Hatred V: Reunion

**Chains of Hatred V: Reunion**

* * *

><p>"Team Sigma," Shinno mused.<p>

He sat there, his chest rested on his palm and showing very little reaction to the ANBU Squad that was surrounding him. It was a level of arrogance brought on by one of two things- overconfidence or a level of ability that far outstripped even the elite ANBU. As Naruto stared into those cruel yellow eyes, he couldn't help but feel that the latter was more likely.

"I'm surprised," Shinno said even as Komachi and Towa darted around the huge stone-faced pillars and drew closer and closer to him. "I didn't think the Hokage's personal assistant would be out and about considering what's happened to the Village Hidden in Leaves. I haven't seen a Team Sigma since the start of the Third Shinobi War."

He stood up and Komachi and Towa halted, lurking in the shadows. The elderly man's eyes flickered to them and crinkled in amusement. Naruto, for his part, straightened and eyed the man warily. He discreetly signalled his team, his fingers flying in blazing-fast code. Shinno, however, chuckled and Naruto paused.

"Oh? A flanking manoeuvre?" His face took on wry expression. "And you're going to face me head-on while your two little friends provide closed-range support and the Yamanaka runs interference? That's rude- we're still speaking."

Naruto held up his hand, his mind racing. He signalled to abort and Towa and Komachi retreated, obeying their orders and falling back to the other side of the room where Yuuka had positioned herself.

The ANBU code had been compromised.

It was a far bigger security leak than Naruto had thought was possible. This man, the leader of Sky Country- the one who had ordered an invasion against their village- had cracked the secrets of the ANBU hand code. It wasn't just that- enemy shinobi would occasionally catch a glimpse and piece by piece the other Village's would form a rough dictionary of what signal meant what. This forced Konoha's ANBU Communications Department to consistently revise, update and modify the code every few years or so. Shinno knew current ANBU hand code, the one that had only been implemented seven months ago.

Naruto didn't know how Shinno had discovered this secret. Perhaps Yugao had let more slip than she had realised. It didn't matter. Very shortly, the cruel-eyed man would never get a chance to speak of it again.

The back of his mind, the one where a voice that sounded suspiciously like Sarutobi's, pointed out that there had been no reason for Shinno to reveal his advanced knowledge of ANBU code. Wryly, Naruto wondered if the other man had just had similar thoughts to him- that the ANBU team would never be able to reveal that they had been compromised.

"I wasn't actually planning on getting my hands dirty," Shinno mentioned quietly. He stood up, his ornate robes draping over his tall and somewhat-muscular frame. "But there was something I've wanted to try, and I suppose a Leaf ANBU Squad might help me along the way."

"Go!" Naruto barked.

He inhaled, his hands blurring through a series of signs and ending on _tiger_, while his teammates flickered forward. Sweltering chakra formed in his mouth and he drew his head back and spat.

_Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!_

A massive streak of fire roared from his mouth and shot forward. Naruto channelled chakra into the technique and kept up his attack as Komachi and Towa appeared on both sides of Shinno. They were only there for a split-second, Komachi sending a hail of deadly thin senbon and Towa throwing the very last of his explosive tags at the man's face. Naruto couldn't see Shinno from beyond the rippling air and bright yellow and orange flames but he saw Komachi backflip out of the way of something, while Towa jerked and was pushed away from the podium with incredible force.

Something dark flickered in Naruto's vision and his instincts screamed. He halted his technique and instantly ducked. Something oily and horrid soared past his head, a shimmering dark light that was almost invisible to the naked eye, and his fire technique was torn apart with ease. Naruto tensed and his eyes shot to the throne, where the fire and smoke was slowly dissipating. Towa and Komachi landed beside him, and awaited their orders.

"Medical Technique Complete," came Shinno's voice- but it sounded different, smoother and less hoarse. The smoke disappeared and Naruto's eyes widened in shock. "The Body Revival Technique was a success."

Where Shinno had once stood as a man approaching his twilight years was a much younger and much fitter version of the Sky Country's Lord. Long black hair dangled over his bulging shoulders and the wrinkles and creases around his face had disappeared. His ornate robes had been ripped apart from the sudden expansion of his shoulders and chest, a simple pair of blue pants covered his legs and nothing else. Dark light flickered around him, coiling around his fists as he clenched them experimentally.

For a moment, Naruto thought that another man had taken Shinno's place. But they eyes were the same, piercing yellow and reflecting cruelty and hatred.

"How did you do that?" Naruto uttered quietly.

"Do you really think I'm going to tell you?" Shinno said and chuckled darkly. He beckoned at the ANBU imperiously. "Come, Leaf Nin. Come and make me talk."

Naruto turned and shot a look at Komachi and Towa. They nodded slightly at him and suddenly blurred away. Shinno chuckled and surged forward, meeting Towa head on in a blur of fists. Naruto saw Yuuka hovering around the back, her hands twisted into a symbol as she formed her illusionary techniques. Towa ducked and held out his hands. Red light shot from down his sleeve, lines, bars and symbols amalgamated, forming a massive scarlet warhammer as tall as he was.

Komachi appeared on his side and a rain of senbon fell. They sparkled and a barrage of lightning-infused pikes slammed into his body. Flesh sizzled and blackened and Shinno twitched, letting out a pained gasp. He staggered and fell victim to a heavy two-handed sweep of the warhammer. Shinno roared in pain as his leg splintered and exploded in a burst of gore. His mouth was open in sheer agony as Komachi looped a wire around his flailing hand and used it to deliver a series of vicious kicks around his throat and jaw. Teeth cracked and blood splattered as Shinno's head jerked back.

Naruto was there to finish up, his hands crossed in a unique seal. Three clones appeared around the wounded Shinno, each baring kunai. Two stabbed them into the muscular torso, perforating a kidney and a heart. The other jab it through the man's neck, dragging it roughly across and severing his arterial veins. The real Naruto darted forward, a compressing swirling ball of humming chakra held in his right hand. He ducked underneath Shinno's flailing arms and launched it right into the man's chest. The spirally orb tore through muscles and flesh, expanding and ripping through the Lord of the Sky Country. Shinno was sent flying backwards by the sheer force of the technique and he crashed into a technique. Rock cracked but so did Shinno and with a battered, broken and fatally wounded, body he crumpled to the ground.

The fight had barely lasted five seconds.

Naruto, Komachi and Towa were panting as they jumped back and flanked the fallen body. For Naruto, his heart was pounding madly and he was baring a vicious grin underneath his mask. It was over, the Commander and Chief of Sky Country's armed forces had been- Naruto's thoughts skidded to a halt and he couldn't stop the gasp that escaped his lips.

Shinno stood, dark light buzzing around him and chuckling quietly, as if Team Sigma had just told him a particularly amusing joke. Dark light flowed around him and the central column, where the same light was racing up past the podium, was glowing. Muscles shifted, bones broke and reset, arteries and veins closed and skin melded back together. After a few seconds, Shinno was standing there looking as tough as ever- even tougher, if that was at all possible.

"Good try," the dark-haired man said. He laughed mockingly, his yellow eyes baring his savage glee to the stunned ANBU Squad. He leaned forward threateningly. "Hey, would you like another shot?"

For the first time, Naruto felt fear.

It wasn't the fear of failing the mission or losing his friends or even dying. The young blond ANBU, twelve years of age, stared at the yellow-eyed man shrouded in dark light and felt a primal and basic fear. Every survival instinct was screaming at him, warning him. He gritted his teeth and jerked his head in response.

Towa held out his arms and the scarlet light shot from down his sleeves. His ANBU robes fluttered as his large spiked warhammer appeared and he stepped forward, meeting the other man's challenge boldly. Seeing Towa's defiance made Naruto ashamed of his fear but he supressed that too. A battle was no place to wear his heart on his sleeve.

"How interesting," Shinno murmured, eying the weapon. "It's a very fascinating piece of _Fuinjutsu_. You've got the seal formula tattooed into your skin and woven into the chakra pathways of your arms and upper shoulders, correct? Using that formula, you could create the spiritual representation of almost any weapon."

Towa didn't reply. He lunged forward and brought his hammer up over his head. With a quick burst of chakra, he flickered and appeared above Shinno, bringing the spiked hammer down with incredible display of brute force. Shinno grinned and appeared to brace himself. He held up his arms and blocked the blow. His arms bent backwards, bones tearing through the skin, and they shattered in an instant. Komachi was there an instant later as she coiled wire around his limbs, holding them in place with a system of senbon acting as pulleys. Yuuka appeared on the other side of her, her gleaming golden hair coiling up above her head like a serpent. With a whip-like crack, it snapped down and wrapped around his neck. The hair tightened and Shinno gurgled as something cracked and his neck bent at an impossible angle.

As this was happening, Naruto formed two clones and they all sped through hand-seals.

_Earth Release Rising Stone Spears! Wind Release: Wind Cutter Technique! Water Release: Water Fang Bullet!_

One clone burst into existence in front of Shinno, crouched with his hands on the ground. Sharp stone spikes burst out from the ground, punching through Shinno's legs and stomach, ripping into organs and bone. The other clone appeared behind the Lord of Sky Country, sweeping a single hand. An almost-invisible blade of wind tore through the air, taking off an ear and most of the dark-haired scalp. The original Naruto weaved his water technique and tossed his water bottle in the air. A pulse of chakra swept through the bottle and it abruptly exploded, three spinning funnels of water racing forward and drilling deep into Shinno's chest. The piercing water technique burrowed through his rib cage and tore his heart from his chest.

Naruto leaned forward from where he stood, watching Shinno intently. After a few seconds, the partially-scalped man did not move. He nodded and Komachi and Yuuka withdrew their binds. Towa lifted his warhammer and gave Shinno one more whack, cracking his skull and sending his corpse crashing to the ground. They all waited in tense silence, the distant sounds of Team Mantis battling in the background, as Shinno's body jerked and twitched before them.

"He's still alive!" Yuuka breathed. Her face was masked but Naruto could imagine the horror on it underneath.

It would look a bit like his.

Abruptly, the pillar of dark light flared and something rippled through the air. Naruto grunted as he was lifted off of his feet by a rapidly expanding shockwave. His vision blurred and his senses were scrambled. For a split-second, Naruto heard a cascading wave of screams and yells of pure agony- fear, terror, hate, anger, desperation, panic, _pain_,_ sheer unrivalled pain._ It was a single flash of torment and lasted only a fraction of a second. It was enough to make him shudder, his cold and calculated grip on his emotions faltering. His hands shook as he looked up.

Shinno rose, dark light leaking from his mangled and broken body. Muscles bulged and shifted, layering on each other again and again. His skin closed together and tightened, toughening and hardening. His hair grew out again and his arms thickened. For a split second, Naruto saw past the knitting flesh on his forearm and saw thick plates of bone growing from the splintered remains. Shinno laughed with an almost-maniacal tone as he flexed his new muscles.

"To think that medical techniques could be enhanced by _Dark Chakra_ to this point," he crowed. He stepped forward as Naruto staggered to his feet. Towa, Yuuka and Komachi, who had been closer to the blast, remained twitching on the ground. "I wonder if this is the secret to Tsunade's power. Is this how she became so devastatingly powerful?"

He strode past Naruto's weak form, dodging a half-hearted swipe and delivering a vicious kick that sent the blond ANBU into and through one of the concrete pillars. Naruto groaned as blackness flittered over his vision. His body ached, sapped of strength from the sheer potency of the dark chakra. His own chakra pathways felt sluggish, his _tenketsu_ fluttering open and shut.

"I do believe that we have enough for a single shot," Shinno was saying. Naruto didn't know who he was talking to, maybe him, and he forced his head up. Shinno was surrounded by swirling dark chakra, his fingers tapping on it quickly. "The easiest part about this weapon is that you can collect the suffering you inflicted with it- it's self-sustaining. I fire it, I kill, the Zero-Tailed Demon Worm collects the dark chakra released from human suffering and we power the weapon to fire it again."

Komachi and Towa were stirring. Yuuka was on her knees, panting madly.

"But I suppose I need to test it first," Shinno admitted and he hummed.

The flying fortress began to shudder and quake and the room tilted to the left. The hum of the engines increased and Naruto could picture the giant stone construct turning around. It halted after a few moments as Shinno pulled a map out from behind his throne and studied it.

"Target: Gyanburu no Machi," he declared. His fists clenched, veins popping up from underneath the skin, and his yellow eyes flickered. "A border city between the Land of Fire and the Land of Tea, the main trading hub of the region, a population of approximately a hundred-thousand plus a sizable garrison of Leaf Nin- perfect."

He lifted his hand, Naruto tried desperately to rise to his feet.

"Fire."

Ancor Vantian, the ultimate weapon of Sky Country, fired. Naruto wasn't outside to see the effects of the weapon being activated but he felt it. The entire fortress shuddered and groaned, stone grinding and moaning. Spent kunai and senbon rattled on the floor as the shaft of dark chakra flared. A tremendous pillar of dark light shot forward, sucking up the dim light emanating from the ceiling lights and torches. Naruto clenched his hand and willed his body to move, to do something- anything!

The dark glow receded and Shinno stood there with an expectant look on his face. His expression was twisted, the glow in his cruel eyes malicious. There was another shudder and the dark chakra pulsed. Shinno chortled.

"Excellent!" he crowed. "I really must send men to take pictures." He turned, staring down at Naruto arrogantly. "This is the power of the Zero-Tailed Demon! Human suffering, collected, stored and used as the ultimate weapon!"

He sounded insane.

"There's no such thing," Naruto panted. "There are only nine tailed demons…"

"You're right," Shinno agreed. "The First Hokage distributed them around the Villages now known as the Great Five as a way to maintain peace. Admirable sentiments, really, it was- but he failed. _We_ never had a Tailed Beast. We were your allies for so long and you gave us nothing!"

The sheer vehemence in his voice and what he was saying had Naruto confused.

"So I decided to fix that," Shinno continued. He clenched his fist. "I created my own Tailed Beast and implanted it into a _Jinchuuriki_." His yellow eyes flared with madness. "The balance of power is broken! My Tailed Beast is the strongest of them all! Even the Nine-Tailed Beast would fall!"

Movement and flexibility was beginning to return to his limbs. He tensed his muscles underneath Shinno's watchful but unconcerned eye. His chakra was beginning to flow properly, the lingering effects of the dark chakra dissipating. His three squad mates, wobbling and Towa still groaning rose up as well. Shinno shrugged.

"Dark Chakra can take a kick out of you," he mentioned casually. "It seems your body has adjusted to it somewhat." He grinned manically. "Excellent! I was getting bored. Come, Leaf Nin! You only have a few moments to stop me before I turn this weapon on your Village and fire!"

Naruto glared at him furiously. His blood was surging, every fibre of his body was roaring and ready to go. His intent to kill crashed down around the room, joining that of the rest of his squad, and his chakra surged to the forefront. A heavy and deep presence slammed down on the room as Naruto reared up- and then he stopped and held out a hand. That little part of his mind- the part he liked to call rationality- was ticking.

Shinno could have killed them all and there was nothing they could have done to stop him. This was a sobering realisation that somewhat dampened his rage. He observed the grinning dark-haired man, his body taut with newly developed muscles, and he slowly began to piece if together.

"No," He declared quietly. Towa shifted on his feet but held back with the rest of the squad. "No, we're not going to attack you- because that's what you want."

Shinno remained silently, smiling cruelly.

"Our techniques hurt you," Naruto said, his voice taking on confidence and volume as it came together. "We use lethal techniques and perform fatal blows and you heal from them all. But, every time you heal you get…bigger." His mind flashed back to the thick arm bones, the twisting and squirming muscles, and the hardening flesh. "You want us to hurt you. You have a medical technique that rebuilds your body and makes it even stronger."

It came crashing down on them.

"We make you stronger," Naruto realised. He shook his head in disgust, feeling the urge to spit at something. "We just made you bigger and tougher. It's why you let us live. You want to get a feel for Leaf techniques and harden the areas of the body we attack the most."

"Very good," drawled Shinno. He clapped mockingly. "I do have one question though. How will you stop me from destroying your village?"

Naruto's mind raced. A thought occurred- but ANBU code had been compromised. He formed a seal and created three shadow clones, which darted to his Squad Mates and whispered something in their ears. They disappeared a second later and his squad straightened and prepared to attack.

"Go!" Naruto shouted.

Towa, Komachi and Naruto flickered from the spot and surrounded Shinno. Naruto saw the man's eyes track them as they appeared before him yet he did nothing, just smiled and casually launched a punch at Komachi. Komachi dodged and her wires glinted in the light as she bound him life before. Naruto flipped through some signs and the stone rose up around them, trapping his outstretched arms and encasing his hands. Naruto formed a sign and the stone glimmered, hardening into a gleaming ebony crystal. Bright scarlet light poured into Towa's hands and he created a series of glowing chains, wrapping them around Shinno's body and looping them through the earth technique.

Yuuka stayed behind and formed a seal. She raised her hands and targeted Shinno.

_Mind-Body Switch Technique!_

Shinno jerked and Yuuka paused. All of a sudden, her body convulsed and her eyes rolled into the back of her head. She let out a piercing scream that echoed through the large chamber and sent a dreadful chill down Naruto's back. She shook on the spot, a seizure wracking her body. Her blonde hair flailed out and around her but her hands were still brought together. Shinno laughed as Naruto made the _abort_ sign and the three ANBU leapt away. He tore across the room and slammed into Yuuka, knocking her hands out of position. He twisted in the air and caught her gently as he landed in a neat crouch.

Her screaming had stopped but she still and unresponsive. He gritted his teeth and clenched his fist.

"Yuuka!" he hissed.

It was all going wrong and despair threatened to overwhelm him.

Shinno laughed and Naruto jerked his head up. He glared daggers at the man from behind his mask, noting a series of _Fuinjutsu_ symbols slowly fade from the man's forehead.

"It'll take more than a Yamanaka mind technique to crack through _Uzumaki_ _Fuinjtusu_," he bellowed, still chuckling.

Naruto froze.

"Well, I'm bored now," Shinno continued. "If you're not going to attack me then I'll have to attack you." He formed a symbol and crouched. "The same medical techniques that let me heal my body let me do this as well! _Eight Inner Gates Formation- Open: The Eight Gate- The Gate of Death!_"

Shinno clenched his fists as Naruto jerked back in horror. Dark Chakra swirled around him, his muscles tightened and the ground trembled. A massive wave of that revolting chakra swept through the room, picking up debris and discarded weaponry off the floor. Naruto somersaulted as the wave of power sent dozens of Komachi's spent senbon towards him and landed on the ground, staring at the enemy with undisguised horror. His muscles were bulging even more, his skin reddening and his eyeballs rolling back in his head. Chakra pulsed from him, more chakra than Naruto had ever felt before, as all eight inner gates activated.

It was said that those who open all eight gates would be, for a time, as strong as any _Kage-level _shinobi- before dying shortly afterwards. As the dark light flooding the room began to die down, Naruto doubted that Shinno would suffer the aftereffects of opening the eight gates as somebody like Gai might have.

What a terrifying opponent.

"I've decided on my title, Leaf Nin," Shinno chuckled. His voice was deeper, huskier, but it still retained the hatred and derision from before. He stepped forward and the concrete underneath him buckled and cracked. "The Sky Emperor! What do you think?"

The door burst open; Shinno turned and was pushed backwards as a howling gale tore into the room. Team Mantis surged forward as Team Sigma once again clambered up off the ground. Naruto saw the wounds that Team Mantis had suffered, torn and bloodied robes, bandaged limbs- for one member, a limb simply gone. Explosive tags and shuriken flew forward as four members moved to engage Shinno on the other side of the chamber while Mantis appeared before Naruto.

"We have secured the area and are moving in to assist," he said dully.

"Code compromised," Naruto gasped, shaking his head dazedly. "He's opened the Eighth Gate! He's a genius with medical techniques- we need to somehow destroy his whole body at once, leave nothing for him to regenerate from!"

Mantis nodded. "We will engage," he declared quietly. "Move to support."

He disappeared and Naruto jerked his head at Komachi and Towa, who darted forward and fell in line with the other ANBU Squad. He remained back, quickly taking Yuuka's motionless form and moving her further away from the battle. He made a hand-sign, gathered a smear of blood off of his cloak and slammed his hand down on the ground.

The Hokage needed to be aware of what was happening.

* * *

><p>The Third Hokage sat behind the table and watched the Emergency Council discuss matters. His hat had slid down his face, which was quite a relief for him as it hid how weary he was. It had been the first battle since the attack of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox twelve years ago and once the rush of chakra and adrenaline had worn off he had found that his hands were shaking. His body was full of aches and pains that he was never aware of before- a sobering realisation that he was not as young as he used to. His chakra and spirit was as fierce as ever but he flesh had withered and grown old.<p>

It was quite disheartening.

The ANBU Commander blurred into the room and the chatter stopped.

"I have received a message from Captain Tenzo," he said quietly. "Message received: _Mission Complete- nine casualties, no fatalities. Enemy infrastructure captured intact. Jiraiya is on the scene and will assist in upcoming operations. Request further support to lockdown and secure captured assets. Pending threat to Konoha- minimal._"

Koharu breathed a sigh of relief.

"Tenzo has done well," Homura said gruffly.

Shikaku was silent, deep in thought, as excited chatters and murmurs sprung from all around the table. Sarutobi too remained silent, his mind wandering to his foolish little assistant. Truly, Naruto had done well on what should have been a routine regional patrol. His pride in his pupil was only exceeded by his worry. A flying castle manned by Sky Nin, a Zero-Tailed Demon Beast, one that Sarutobi had never heard of, the sacking and razing of the Fire Country's southern regions- something was building.

"Is it time to reduce the threat to Emergency Level 2?" Inoichi asked quietly. "We could allow the recovery and relief teams to leave the shelters and start working on essential repairs."

A small monkey burst into the room in a puff of smoke. Sarutobi practically snatched the tattered scroll out of its hands, idly noting the bloody finger prints on it. Silence filled the room as he uncurled it and began to read. He closed his eyes and let out a small sigh.

"Gyanburu no Machi has been destroyed," Sarutobi said, his eyes closed. "Team Sigma suggests survivors are unlikely."

You could have heard a pin drop in the room. Over a hundred thousand Fire Country citizens were gone. The Fire Lord would have no choice but to become involved now. There were be repercussions and reprisals- truly, this could well be the start of the Fourth Great Shinobi War.

"The enemy is in possession of a long ranged weapon capable of striking over far distances. An attack on the village is imminent," Sarutobi continued.

Shikaku leant forward intently. "Can Team Sigma delay or stop the attack?" he asked seriously.

Sarutobi paused. Slowly, he shook his head. "A contingent of ANBU is on the scene," he said gravely. "However, the enemy commander has access to a unique chakra. Sigma reports that this chakra allows the enemy to withstand fatal blows and open the Inner Gate of Death without repercussion. Sigma reports likely mission failure."

Seated down at the other end of the table, Gai froze. "That's impossible," the normally enthusiastic Jonin muttered to himself.

"Such an opponent would be _S-ranked_. As such, we need to counter with an _S-rank_ shinobi of our own," Shikaku said decisively. "Jiraiya is nearby. We should have him take command of Tenzo's Platoon and launch an immediate attack on the Fortress."

Sarutobi nodded. "Do it," he ordered. He stood up in his chair, his chakra surging around his tired and aching body. His teeth were bared in a somewhat vicious snarl and those closest to him leaned back. "Homura! Koharu! Retrieve the Second Hokage's Scroll of Sealing!"

His two teammates exchanged looks and disappeared.

"I will attend to the village walls!" Sarutobi commanded. "All shinobi are to remain on alert! Begin Code 7-Black! All civilian and military forces must be prepared to evacuate the village!"

Code 7-Black: the abandonment of the Village's infrastructure. It had never been activated before- even when the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox had appeared in the middle of the village Sarutobi had only had time to consider it before the events were over.

Sarutobi activated a near-instantaneous body-flicker and disappeared from the room. The message scroll lay on the table unheeded as the rest of the Council began immediate emergency preparations. Only the ANBU Commander remained still, deep in thought, and strode effortlessly through the bustle. He took the scroll and read it. Then, he threw it on the table and disappeared, leaving it to roll unsteadily from one side to the other- the last words of the message present.

_It's been an honour._

_I'm sorry._

* * *

><p>It was an impossible battle.<p>

The summon dispersed with his final mission report, Naruto fell into line with his comrades and together they fought against the megalomaniac leader of Sky Country. Naruto used every scrap of chakra he possessed, ignoring the burning sensation emanating from his _tenketsu_ as he hung back and provided long-ranged _ninjutsu_ support. Shadows clones burst into existence, weaving hand-seals, channelling elemental chakra, and dispersing once they had finished. Naruto surrounded Shinno on all sides and launched combination techniques that normally would have required several _A-ranked_ shinobi working in tandem. Komachi and Towa, fatigued and wounded from the earlier battle, stepped in line with him. Komachi launched barrages of senbon infused with lightning-chakra, hundreds and hundreds of them unpacking from the storage seals lining the inner layer of her ANBU robes. She pelted Shinno, hitting vital points and painful nerve clusters every single time. Towa had formed a bright-scarlet bow in his hand and shot gleaming streaks of chakra forward, as fast as any thrown kunai.

Team Sigma provided a support role while Team Mantis moved to engage. For a few moments, Naruto was absolutely stunned to see the flawless teamwork that the other ANBU team displayed. There was no wasted movement- every step forward and backwards had a greater purpose in mind as the five other ANBU almost _danced_ around Shinno. Metal glinted and flashed, two of the ANBU holding swords and delivering a series of deep slashes to the enemy's critical points. Mantis was there wielding a fistful of light, blinding intense of beams of focussed chakra swinging out and ripping through the hardened muscles and toughened skin with ease. Even the ANBU member with one arm was contributing, using his legs to gain momentum and delivering a series of snapping kicks to Shinno's face every time he was in range. This was an ANBU team who had been fighting together for so long that coordination was just like breathing for them. There was no hesitation, no apparent regard for their safety.

Between Team Sigma's long range capabilities and the sheer amount of close-combat firepower coming from Team Mantis, Naruto would have usually struggled to think of a single opponent that could have handled them with ease. Even the Hokage would have had to at least _try_- if only for a few moments.

Shinno's grating maniacal laugh filled the chamber as he took each blow and strike casually, unconcerned as his body turned to pulp around him. Team Mantis tore into him, taking pounds of flesh for the lives that Sky Country had stolen that day, and the Sky Emperor thanked them for it. Dark Chakra swirled around him, his body regenerating almost instantly now. After a few moments, each blow from Team Mantis was doing significantly less damage. Mantis held up his fistful of light and jumped over his one-armed teammate as the latter delivered a vicious kick that snapped Shinno's head backwards. The ANBU held out his one good arm and gave Mantis a push- Mantis soared through the air and the light in his hand grew brighter. He thrust it forward, at Shinno's head, and for the first time the man reacted.

Shinno moved as a blur, grabbed Mantis by his arm. His muscles flexed and dark chakra abruptly howled. With a simple jerking movement, as if he was just peeling a banana, Shinno pulled _down_ and tore off Mantis' arm. Blood sprayed, Mantis let out an odd choking noise and was flung aside with contemptible ease. One of his teammates caught him and a combined _earth-fire_ technique swirled around Shinno an instant later, hot whirlpools of mud and tar surrounding him and enveloping him.

"Mantis!" Naruto broke formation, signalling his team as he did so, and appeared by the other Squad Leader's side.

"Combat efficiency reduced," Mantis said. His voice was strangely blank but his one good hand was quivering. Naruto could only marvel at the other man's composure. "Nonetheless, a potential weakness has been exposed."

"His head," Naruto said with a grim nod. "It's the only time he defended himself."

Mantis nodded slightly. His teammate left him there on the ground and returned to battle as Shinno tore himself out of the mud, his skin blistering and melted in several places. Scarlet arrows pierced his lungs, punching through the skin with the effectiveness of a quarrel. Shinno's one-armed teammates was now holding a sickle, blue hazy chakra running down on the inside curve of the weapon. Apparently they had also gotten the message- a single cut from that would take off Shinno's head.

Mantis turned his head to Naruto. "Ferret," he said calmly. "I will bleed out unless this wound is closed."

"I don't know medical chakra," Naruto said quietly as his comrades fought around them. He held up his palm and it was glowing red, waves of heat emanating from it. "I can cauterise it."

Mantis nodded.

"This will hurt," Naruto warned and pressed the fire-elemental chakra on his palm firmly into the other ANBU's shoulder. Flesh sizzled and popped and for the first time Mantis let out a slow moan of pain. Naruto finished as quickly as he could and wrapped a bandage around it, hoping that perhaps the medical chakra imbued in it might be able to help in some way- to relieve the pain if nothing else.

Mantis nodded at Naruto in thanks. He held out his other arm and his chakra technique burst into existence, a hazy fistful of dimmed light. Both Squad Leaders climbed to their feet and Mantis flickered, disappearing and reappearing on the front lines. Naruto flicked through some hand-seals and bought his hand down on the ground.

_Summoning Technique!_

There was a puff of smoke and Enma appeared. The Monkey King surveyed the ongoing battle and likely made his own assessment in a single moment. He looked down at Naruto, folding his arms and eying the young ANBU grimly.

"This is the Commander then?" Enma asked gruffly.

"Yes," Naruto answered quickly. "He regenerates from fatal wounds almost instantly. He's activated all Eight Inner Gates and he's letting us hurt him so that he can rebuild his body to contain resilience to Konoha's techniques."

"Arrogant," Enma growled. "Plan of attack?"

"Head," Naruto replied. He held out his arm. "Let's kill this son-of-a-bitch, Enma!"

The Monkey King nodded and disappeared in a puff of smoke. Naruto reached into it and took the adamantine staff. It fit into his hands perfectly and he could feel the chakra swirling inside of it, the potent life force and energy of the Monkey King condensed into a single gleaming staff. He gripped it and lunged forward.

The ANBU were darting around Shinno, delivering a series of debilitating wounds to his limbs. Naruto saw a knee-cap explode only to reform a second later. Horrible gushing wounds tore into the enemy's thighs and shins, healing almost instantaneously but still slowing the Sky Emperor down. Mantis prowled in the background, darting forward and attempting to deliver a sharp blow to Shinno's head as he was distracted and unable to move. Naruto fell in line with the mantis-masked ANBU and together they nodded. The ANBU around Shinno jumped back, paused and resumed their attacks with even greater ferocity.

It was a flash and blur of movement as the stone beneath Shinno's feet turned to mud. The dark-haired man grunted as he sank into the pit, waving away the ANBU like they were irritating flies as the elite shinobi tore through his arms, impaling them with kunai and wire. There were two ANBU members for each arm and they restrained him as Naruto darted forward. He raised the staff- it extended but Shinno tilted his head. A clawed hand burst out from the staff and Enma gripped Shinno by the throat and squeezed. There were pops and cracks as bones were crushed and forced out of place. Naruto fed his own chakra into the staff, augmenting Enma's already impressive strength, and planted his feet on the ground. Shinno, his impossibly muscular form immobilised, watched and Naruto relished the sudden fear that entered his yellow eyes as Mantis charged at him with the fistful of wavy bright-yellow light glowing in his hand. Mantis pulled back his arm and prepared to deliver the final blow- but faltered.

Shinno hadn't moved. His hands were still trapped and bound.

Nonetheless, his body flickered with dark light and Naruto felt the dark chakra ooze over him. In a sudden burst of power, each of the ANBU was thrown away by a shockwave of pure force them emanated from Shinno's body. Naruto dropped the staff as twirled in the air and landed on the floor. He opened his hand and Enma elongated back into it. He gripped the firm black surface, breathing harshly.

"This is getting dangerous," Shinno mentioned casually as he tore through the bindings with ease. He lifted himself out of the pit of mud and shook it off. Yellow eyes surveyed the ANBU maliciously. "Let's end this, shall we?"

It was an impossible battle- one that they couldn't win.

What followed next showed the clear distinction between _A-ranked_ and _S-ranked _shinobi. Shinno simply disappeared on the spot using nothing but the pure speed from his enhanced muscles. He reappeared by one of the struggling members of Team Mantis and lifted a heavy leg. With a start, Naruto realised that Team Mantis hadn't been exposed to the dark chakra before, and he lunged towards them. Enma shot forward but Shinno grabbed it and ripped it from his hands. He slammed his foot down on the ground and the stone shattered from the force of the blow. Naruto didn't see what happened- but he could guess- and he signalled Komachi and Towa furiously. Team Sigma blurred forward, attempting to halt Shinno's slaughter of Team Mantis. Enma appeared in a puff of smoke, the angry primate baring his teeth as he delivered a two-handed haymaker to Shinno.

Shinno took the hit and grabbed Enma by his arm. He held out a hand and swirling dark chakra appeared there- akin to a _Rasengan_. He slammed it into Enma's chest and sent the Monkey King flying backwards with incredible force to the other side of the chamber. Enma slammed into the wall in a cloud of dust and slid down it. Shinno turned with a vicious grin on his face as Naruto charged at him with a _Rasengan. _The blond ANBU jumped and thrust it at his head. Shinno was chuckled as he blocked it with the palm of his hand, dark chakra flaring to meet the swirling blue technique in Naruto's hand.

Naruto cried out as the bones in his hand shattered. His arm _burned _as dark chakra washed over it, his momentum stopped. With a sneer, Shinno tossed Naruto up into the air and pulled his arm back. Dark chakra swirled around his knuckles. Naruto, twisting in the air, managed to cross his arms over his face in an attempt to soften the blow.

It saved his life.

Shinno's single blow tore both arms out of their sockets. His forearms fractured as shards of bone and flesh was torn apart. They bent backwards, the massive force pushing them into an unnatural angle, and slammed on his face. His head rocked back, his body in agony, Naruto couldn't stop himself from screaming as Shinno brutally crushed his guard and launched a punch on Naruto's face. His head swam dizzyingly and a white light rocked his vision. A loud ceramic 'crack' filled the air as the mask on his face splintered apart and Naruto was sent flying by the blow. He landed on something hard and unforgiving and lay there silently. His body broken and his mind dazed, he could only watch the events that followed numbly.

Komachi and Towa engaged Shinno for a full three seconds. Shinno brushed past them and spun around, delivering a brutal kick to Towa. Even his scarlet chakra forming a makeshift shield did nothing to soften the blow and Towa was propelled into the roof. The stone around him cracked and he fell limply to the floor. Komachi was next as Shinno grabbed her hair. Almost immediately his hand was littered with a hundred senbon but he ignored them and lifted her up. He spun her around and Komachi shrieked as most of her hair and parts of her scalp was torn off. She was sent flying and disappeared past Naruto's vision. Team Mantis, having somewhat recovered, attacked.

Shinno tore them apart, piece by piece. It lasted less than a minute.

"Feel this pain, Konoha!" He screamed as Naruto watched on dazedly. "Feel the pain of my village! Feel the pain of those that died by your sins!"

"Sky…Country," Naruto gurgled. His mouth was warm with blood and he spat. "Sky Country was before my time… why…do you…aren't…this is…"

His incoherent ramblings attracted the attention of Shinno, who stood wreathed in the dark light of the chakra of the Zero-Tailed Demon Worm. With a roar of anger, Shinno punched one of the columns in the chamber and it turned to dust.

"Fuck Sky Country!" He boomed. "Do you think they're the only ones that Konoha wronged? Sky Country and I had a common goal, that's it! They were useful so I helped them with their little flying machines. What you did to my village was much worse!"

Naruto opened his mouth to respond. He froze.

A sudden surge of chakra, something fierce and primal, clamped down in the room. Shinno froze and spun his head, his eyes wide as the chakra raged, wild and untamed. A large bulky person was emerging from the shadows, orange and yellow eyes peering out from the darkness.

"Senjutsu!" somebody rumbled harshly.

It was Enma. Where he had once appeared humanoid he now appeared like a true mountain gorilla. His armour had fallen away, revealing thick white and grey fur, and his face had twisted. Orange streaks of fur criss-crossed the area around his eyes and he was something potent swirled around him, dancing just out of reach of Naruto's senses.

"What's this?" asked Shinno, his voice no longer cocky. "What's this chakra?"

Enma didn't say a word. He hunchbacked on his forelegs and the ground cracked. Shinno's eyes widened as Enma let out a deafening roar and charged at him. It was almost comical- a mountain gorilla weighing hundreds of kilograms with thick bulging muscles bounding forward. Shinno didn't seem to think so and he dodged the first swing, swinging his leg back to prepare a counter- suddenly, his face splintered and rocked back and he was pushed off his feet. Blood spluttered from his lips as he landed neatly and cocked a fist back. Dark chakra swirled around his hand and he met the next wild fist with one of his own. The air was full of howling wind and the ground trembled and shook. For the first time during this fight, Shinno was pushed back by the sheer force of the punch. He growled and countered with his own punch.

To Naruto, what followed was the pinnacle of hand-to-hand combat.

Two beings, masters of strange and unusual chakras, met in a blur of fists. The air twisted and howled underneath the force of the blows and the thick stone was begun to give way in many places. What was left of the podium disappeared underneath the brutal combats, punches and kicks levelled blocks of stone and walls with ease. Shinno and Enma fought, each landing blows on each other that would topple buildings, and Shinno fell back. His body was bruised and bleeding, unable to withstand this new form of chakra that Enma was using.

"That's enough!" he roared. Light flared in his hand and he let the Monkey King slam his fist in his face. He brought up his hand and pressed his fingers into the thick coarse fur. "_Fuinjutsu!_ _Breach of Contract!"_

Lines of symbols appeared on Enma, who looked outraged, before the Monkey King disappeared with a flash of light. Shinno fell to the ground, panting and clutching his newly broken body. It was only beginning to heal now and for the first time Shinno looked worried.

"What was that?" he murmured quietly.

Naruto's hands were in splinters- he couldn't resummon Enma- so he rose. His teeth scrapped the floor as he grabbed a kunai with his teeth. With the last of his strength, Naruto charged at the enemy. His body was light and his mind was strangely clear. Shinno, distracted, looked up and his eyes widened as Naruto jumped up. He kicked and Shinno's bleeding head snapped back. With a snarl, Naruto brought his head down and slammed the kunai held in his mouth into the base of the Sky Emperor's exposed throat.

Something cracked.

Distantly, Naruto was aware of little chunks of his teeth and gum falling from his mouth. He stood there, frozen, as the kunai that was held in his teeth _shattered_. The metal splinters cut open his mouth and cheek as they fell to the ground. Numbly, he saw that the metal point of the weapon had not even broken skin. He gurgled as a thick hand wrapped around his throat and lifted him up in the air so he was face to face with Shinno.

"You're so young," Shinno muttered, staring at Naruto's exposed face. "And so well-trained. Konoha truly does make monsters, doesn't it?"

Naruto struggled futilely as the grip tightened.

"You ANBU came here awfully quick after Konoha was attacked," Shinno whispered. Darkness lurked his gleaming eyes. "It wasn't even a day and you have launched a counterattack- such efficiency. Tell me though, where were you back then? We waited for _weeks!_"

Naruto squirmed. His head was beginning to get light as his lungs screamed for oxygen. Shinno held out his other hand and dark chakra swirled.

"Goodbye, little ANBU!" He snarled and thrust it into Naruto's chest.

Naruto's body jerked and his eyes widened. What he felt was beyond pain- it was absence. His chakra spluttered and died, his limbs stiffened and his eyes rolled back into his head. Darkness immediately encroached on his vision and everything became wreathed in shadows. Distantly, he heard Shinno speak.

"This is my vengeance…my revenge on Konoha's abandonment of the Village Hidden in Whirlpools. The Uzumaki Clan will be avenged!"

Then the darkness rose to meet him.

* * *

><p>It was wet and cold.<p>

Naruto lay in the water, unmoving.

Torches flickered.

Two gleaming eyes opened and stared from behind bars of unbreakable steel.

The water surged.

"**_Take it…_**" the voice rumbled. "**_Take this power. It's what you want. It's what your accursed clan has always wanted. Take it._**_"_

The water swirled around Naruto's unresponsive form and glowed with an ominous red light.

The staring eyes slowly closed.

* * *

><p>Shinnoh regarded the young boy held in his grip and shook his head. The ANBU's eyes were closed, his head lolled back and his spiky blond hair covered with muck and grime. He shook his head and withdrew his hand from the boy's chest. His dark chakra had torn most of the major organs apart and it dripped onto the ground.<p>

"This is my vengeance," he told the corpse strongly. "My revenge on Konoha's abandonment of the Village Hidden in Whirlpools! The Uzumaki Clan will be avenged."

He moved to throw the boy aside- and then he froze. Tight, strong, _clawed_ fingers gripped into his hand and sharp nails pierced his skin. He turned his head and met the now crimson gaze of the young ANBU agent. As his forearm shattered underneath the force of Ferret's grip, a crimson chakra burst into existence and swirled around him. A torrent of oppressive and foul tainted power spiralled around the boy, criss-crossing and slicing through the floor. Stone was torn apart and large, bloody welts appeared on Shinno's torso from where the chakra sliced through him mercilessly. The pain he felt from that was nothing compared to the current torment in his heart.

"No!" Shinno whispered in denial. He shook his head as the chakra grew stronger and stronger, crimson fire lighting up the entire room. His face was screwed up in unbridled horror. "Mito!" he whispered.

The boy arched his back and howled. It was the howl of a beast, the howl of the damned- the howl of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox

It was the howl of Uzumaki Mito's legacy.

Crimson-slitted eyes peered down at him murderously and a clawed arm rose. Shinno saw bone fragments and flesh knitting back together, cracking and deforming as they slid back into place. The clawed hand slammed into the side of his head and swept him away in a wave of foul chakra. He flew- the force of the blow sent him tumbling into and through the broken remains of a concrete pillar and across to the other side of the chamber. He lay there for a moment, more stunned with his sudden realisation than the actual attack. The boy fell to the ground and dropped to all fours, chakra swirling around him. It was a shroud of formless and mindless power, more dark and foul than almost anything Shinno had felt before.

He clenched his fist and allowed the chakra generated by the Zero-Tailed Demon Worm to fill his body. With gritted teeth, Uzumaki Shinno stood up and prepared to fight his family.

* * *

><p>Naruto was on fire.<p>

His entire body burned with that unholy chakra as it seeped into every crevice and pore. Cuts, bruises and aches all disappeared. Broken teeth fell from his mouth as new ones grew to replace them. His arms creaked and groaned as bones slid back into place, blood vessels knitting back together and flesh smoothing over them. His heart pumped furiously, adrenaline and chakra flowed freely and strengthened his thickening muscles, and every facet of the flight-or-fight reaction was perfectly tuned. In his twelve years of life, Naruto had never been physically healthier.

Mentally and emotionally, his first taste of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox's power was unbearable.

There was heat. There was power. There was will. There was anger and hate and loneliness and everything that Naruto thought he had left behind in his old life. The culmination of twelve years of pent up emotions, masked as a child and supressed as a shinobi, raced through him.

It hurt. It hurt so much and he clutched his head. The feeling was indescribable. Naruto did what every other human being did when they felt pain- he grew angry.

He raised his head, howling and the swirling chakra around him howled too. It bubbled and hissed, tearing through the stone floor around him. Clutching his head, he wept- the tears hissed and evaporated as soon as they appeared. Naruto turned his head and glared down at Shinno with unbelievable fury.

"You traitor!" Shinno bellowed. His cocky and self-satisfied smirk was gone and he trembled with complete and utter fury. He wore a look of a man betrayed. "Why are you fighting for them? They let your family die!" Dark light burst into existence around him and he clenched his fists. "That's unforgivable!"

Naruto didn't respond. He wasn't quite sure if he actually could. Nor did he want to.

Shinno.

It was his fault. He made him feel this pain, this sheer torment that represented his existence. Naruto would take it out on him and perhaps afterwards he would feel better. Maybe this pain would go after he had sated his hatred.

Naruto blurred and red chakra propelled him forward. He torpedoed into Shinno, who gladly met his charge, and they fought. Chakra-enhanced limbs flashed against each other, dark chakra meeting its crimson counterpart in showers of sparks. Naruto's form had little style or technique- he was an angry rolling mess of limbs, each blow thrust forward with the intention to hurt. Shinno was the same, the dark chakra fuelling him as he battled against the Nine-Tailed _Jinchuuriki_. Their blows shattered the concrete around them and shrouds of chakra battled above them.

Naruto lashed out with a clawed arm and Shinno ducked. Red chakra flashed and swung out, forming a crude representation of a clawed paw. It punched him from under the chin and he was slammed into the roof. The same arm twisted and turned past his shroud of dark chakra and grabbed his leg. Without any effort, it tossed his massive bulk across the room. Shinno was thrown aside and went crashing through the last stone pillar in the room. An instant later, he bellowed and a shockwave of dark light swept aside the crimson chakra and knocked Naruto off his feet. Both Uzumaki clambered to their feet, glaring at each other murderously.

"To think I would find family," Shinno growled. He bared his teeth and his muscles bulged, repairing the damage Naruto had done to him and strengthening him. "And to think that the last of my family would turn against the clan."

Naruto clutched his head and howled furiously. Chakra swirled around his mouth, he inhaled and a torrent of uncontrollable fire spewed out towards Shinno. Shinno batted it aside with another dark chakra-enhanced shockwave and watched as Naruto fell to the ground, clutching his head and panting. Movement flickered in his eyes and Naruto spun, a red-shrouded fist rising and thrusting forward. His sharp teeth twisted into a savage grin, he let the crimson light wash over his vision as his heart ached in loneliness.

"Ferret…"

Naruto hadn't realised that he had stopped. He stared past his fist, inches away from his target, and saw Yuuka staring back at him. Her mask was removed and she was holding one hand on her temple. Her blue eyes were wide and round, staring at him wordlessly. Naruto growled and fought every urge in his body as he lowered his fist. He jerked his head.

"Go!" he growled. His voice was guttural and rough. "Take them and go!"

Yuuka disappeared in a flash and Naruto turned back to Shinno, who stood there gazing at him in pure disgust. He didn't seem concerned at all as Yuuka roused Towa and Komachi- the only ANBU around still in one piece- and dashed from the room.

"Was this their plan?" Shinno asked dangerously. Dark chakra seeped his hands as he stepped forward. "First it was Mito and then it was Kushina. Now, it's you: another _Jinchuuriki_ of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox. I guess they didn't need us anymore after they started their own Uzumaki Clan."

"What are you talking about?" Naruto roared. The flash of rationality that had surfaced when Yuuka had appeared was fading away under the weight of his own heart. "You've killed my friends! You've hurt my village! You tortured! You burned! I hate you! I'm going to fucking kill you!"

His fury built and he howled as the chakra around him coalesced. It swirled around him, bubbling and spluttering loudly, and took on the visage of a fox. His teeth sharpened and his lips were pulled further and further back into a canine-like grin. A single tail of the potent chakra swished behind him.

He darted forward in a blur and the two Uzumaki fought. Demonic chakra met and clashed, their fists and knees were like blurs and room exploded with light. Naruto swung and swiped with all his might, his unquenchable thirst for vengeance clouding his mind. With this chakra, he was just as fast as his opponent and regenerated just as quickly.

Shinno punched him in the face and broke his nose and jaw. Naruto retaliated with a flash of crimson chakra that tore off Shinno's arm. Shinno kicked him in the knee, splintering the bone, and yanked his head. His neck cracked, red chakra shrieked, and Naruto plunged a hand through his opponent's chest and ripped out a rib. Shinno head-butted Naruto and threw him to the floor, raising a leg to stomp down on him. Naruto caught the foot, broke it and sent Shinno soaring through the air. The elderly Uzumaki twisted and dark light built in his hand. He sent a streak of it forward and it plunged into Naruto like a bullet. Naruto shook his head dazedly even as his wounds regenerated. He darted forward, his tail swishing behind him.

"I hate you!" Naruto howled, his claws tearing through skin and bone. "I hate you so much! I want you to burn! It's your fault!" He punched, kicked and fought. "Why do you look away from me? I'm here! I'm real! Stop ignoring me!"

His words made no sense but they infuriated Shinno.

"You're not even looking at me!" Shinno roared angrily. "Listen to yourself! You hate Konoha as much as I do! Why are you fighting me? We're family! We're _family!_"

Naruto howled incoherently and the world became a blur. He roared, chakra waves exploding from him. With each howl and without seals he formed fire chakra and it came naturally and instinctively. He blew it out and metal and stone turned white-hot. The bodies of his fallen comrades were turned to ash as he breathed in wide arcs, setting the whole room on fire and uncaring of the damage he was causing. The floor rumbled and shuddered, the fight threatening to tear down the foundations of Ancor Vantian.

Shinno weathered the assault, one hand curled behind his back. With a vicious kick, he sent Naruto spinning away and raised his hand. Yellow symbols fared on each of his fingers as he thrust it at Naruto. "_Sealing Technique: Five-Pointed Star!"_

Naruto slammed into a translucent-yellow star-shaped barrier that surrounded him on all sides. He roared and banged his hands against it. Something cracked as Naruto railed on the barrier with all of his might while Shinno watched on. With a deadly look in his eyes, Shinno snapped his fingers and barrier brightened. It exploded in a column of light that tore through roof and floor. The bright yellow light suddenly wavered and it turned crimson. Naruto emerged but not unscathed. His skin had practically melted away, the red chakra rapidly regenerating it, and his robes were mere tatters. Shinno saw swirling black symbols scrawled around his naval. Before his eyes, they seemed to shift, stretching out and widening on the exposed skin.

Naruto howled again. The crimson chakra seemed to resonate with the young boy's hatred and it bubbled around him furiously, leaking from his bloodied wounds and taking form. It coalesced again, becoming denser and thicker, and the creating another swishing tail.

Shinno chuckled bitterly. His body was bulging, unnaturally so, and terrible bruises were forming underneath his skin- even in places where Naruto hadn't struck him.

"Look at us!" he yelled, waving his arms. "We're the last of our clan trying to kill each other!"

He laughed hysterically as Naruto clutched his head. He was panting, the chakra around him swirling, and the heat and flame and power was too much. He collapsed to the ground, shuddering, as Shinno's laughter rose in pitch.

"Your body is breaking apart!" Shinno hissed. "Is this your first time using the power of the Tailed-Beasts? Your body is struggling to hold it. Then again, so is mine!" he grinned ferociously. "Your stupid, poor, pathetic traitor!"

"Shut up!" Naruto roared. He clutched his head and shook it. "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!"

Shinno ignored him. "Do you know who you're fighting for?" He asked maliciously. "You're fighting for the people that left our family to die! We were promised aid and support and so we held a defensive position! We trusted in Konoha and we paid for that trust in lives!" He leaned forward. "They came and they _murdered_ us. Their _Jinchuuriki _tore through our barriers and their shinobi swept into the village. They slaughtered us all. My family, my son, my daughter- ripped apart by a blade of the Seven Swordsmen!"

He leant forward, his voice dropping to a deadly hiss, his eyes alight with madness. His was frothing at the mouth, spittle flying forward as he ranted.

"We fought and we lost," he said darkly. "I survived, holding on to life with a dozen blades in me. I left the Village of Whirlpools with the last words and thoughts of the Uzumaki Clan. At the end, they screamed of their hatred towards Konoha, the village that abandoned them!I promised them that I would seek vengeance in their honour!"

Naruto was gasping for air, as if was having trouble breathing. One clawed hand clutched his heart, the other his head. Shinno straightened and called upon his dark chakra. The battered floor tilted as Ancor Vantian turned and Uzumaki's yellow eyes glinted.

"Fire on Konoha!" he roared and the dark chakra leapt to his command.

Ancor Vantian buckled and Naruto roared in fury. Shinno turned, keeping his distance from the haze of deadly crimson chakra.

"Feel the pain of your family," he said and there was a gentle tone of madness in his voice. His eyes seemed to swirl. "Feel the pain of betrayal as your own family destroys the place you love. Watch as I find your friends and hack them to pieces in front of you! Survive, clinging to life with cowardice, and flee. Perhaps then you will truly understand my pain!"

_Henge!_

Shinno had taken a step forward, his entire body covered in thick purple bruises, when something shot at him. His eyes widened as a black blur shot across the room and slammed into him. He grunted and suddenly parts of his body seemed to _explode_ in showers of blood and gore. The blur pushed him backwards into the wall, bones shattering. He went through the wall, and then the next and the next and then he was gone. Naruto was panting as he watched and he saw bright blue sky at the other end of the tunnel as the black blur extracted. He cocked his head, chakra bubbling furiously around him, as Enma stepped forward, pulling back the long adamantine bar that his arm had become.

Naruto snarled and swiped at the Monkey King, who dodged and darted through Naruto's defences. He slapped Naruto on the head and then it was over.

The heat left. The power faded. His hatred dimmed.

Naruto was left panting on the floor, his body a weak and shivering mess. It was so cold, his limbs felt impossible heavy and frozen, as Enma stood over him. Something was obscuring his view and he slowly reached up and grabbed a tag off his forehead. The paper was yellowed and smelt musty. There had been a symbol written on it in neat loopy handwriting but it slowly faded away before his eyes. Naruto gurgled and choked on his own vomit as Enma carefully helped him up.

"Konoha," Naruto muttered, his chin stained with vomit. "Enma!" he gripped the Monkey King's fur feebly. "They fired! Go! Warn him!"

"Naruto…" Enma rumbled.

"Go!" Naruto yelled with all his strength.

Enma gave him a look and disappeared in a puff of smoke. Naruto lay back down, ignoring the smell of his vomit. He was breathing harshly and felt tired, so very tired, but he slowly turned his head and eyed the pillar of rising dark chakra in the background.

* * *

><p>Sarutobi stood on the walls of Konoha. Behind him, the village was deserted and surrounding him was a squad of ANBU, each crouched around him ready to defend him with their lives. He regarded the thick and heavy scroll in front of him grimly and waited.<p>

They had been there for fifteen minutes before something happened. A puff of smoke appeared and Enma appeared, looking strained and wearied.

"It's coming!" was all he managed to say before he flinched and disappeared.

Sarutobi nodded grimly. Part of him was concerned about his old friend, knowing that multiple reverse summonings was _not_ good for the body, human or animal. There was a reason why the process hasn't become part of their military doctrine- Enma would likely be out of commission for several days. He cleared his mind and knelt down in front of the scroll. Shikaku had calculated the most likely angle of attack from Sky Country's weapon and turned to face that direction. Blood oozed from his old fingers and slid over the scroll as Sarutobi placed one hand on it and stretched the other in front of him. The air trembled and an immense pressure dropped on his surrounding guards as he gathered his chakra and prepared to use the technique.

"Hokage-sama!" his Hyuuga ANBU guard called out. His _Byakugan_ must have been activated. "There is a massive burst of chakra coming this way! It's…it's bigger than anything I've seen before!"

"ETA?" Sarutobi grunted.

"It's moving so quick!" the Hyuuga hissed. "You have seconds, sir!"

Sarutobi could see it on the horizon, a blinding beam of crackling dark light surging straight at the Village Hidden in Leaves. He braced himself and his chakra flared into existence around him.

"_Space-Time Technique!"_ he thundered. _"Open the Eternal Schism of the Bronzed Mirror!"_

He gestured and the air in front of the village suddenly cracked. The sound of breaking glass resounded throughout the village as bits of blue and green colour fell apart like a broken mirror. The air broke as space and time was shattered and the eternal emptiness of nothingness filled his vision- a deep and dark abyss that confounded his eyes. It was all colours and it was none. It defied the senses and hovered in front of the village. Sarutobi grunted and lifted an arm. The air above the village also broke apart and an identical rift in space and time was forced into existence.

The incoming beam of dark chakra slammed into the abyss and Sarutobi let out a loud grunt. He fell down to both knees, one hand pressed against the scroll and one hand lifted in the air. Light blazed around the dark curtain as the surging beam of chakra bore down on it. A loud gong boomed forward as the dark chakra appeared from the schism above the village, shooting up into the sky. Sarutobi was gasping, his power raging about it furiously, and he stood strong and weathered the storm.

For the sake of the Village.

* * *

><p>Naruto had managed to stagger to his feet and he limped over to the pillar of dark chakra. It was coming from the bottom of a long shaft that must have gone from one end of the fortress to the other. A series of rungs had been bolted in to it so Naruto took a deep breath and began to climb down. The pillar of dark chakra was only centimetres away from his body as he descended the ladder and entered a large cavern.<p>

At the centre of the cavern there was an altar. Hundreds of immense thick tubes extended from each side of the altar and fed into the layout of the fortress. On top of the altar was a swirling mass of the dark chakra, spiralling around and being sucked into the different pipes and tubes. Naruto limped over as the foul chakra hummed ominously in the background.

Lying down on the altar was a young girl, no older than he was. At first Naruto thought she was clothed but then he realised that she was completely nude. Tens of thousands of little symbols had been tattooed onto her skin and her back was arched, her mouth opened in an endless and soundless scream and the whites of her eyes staring unblinkingly at the roof of the cavern.

This had to be the _Jinchuuriki _of the Zero-Tails.

"I'm sorry," Naruto murmured sorrowfully. "I'm so sorry for what he did, for what my _family_ did to you. But don't worry. I'll put you to rest now."

He pulled out the kunai he had taken from the debris-littered battleground and raised it above his head. Focussing his weak and spluttering chakra, a hazy wind formed around it. It took a few seconds to stabilise. With a deep breath, Naruto plunged it through the haze of dark chakra surrounding the unconscious red-haired girl. Wind chakra howled as it pierced the unnatural chakra and Naruto forced himself to watch as he methodically cut her throat. Blood seeped and splattered over the altar and Naruto cried out as he kunai was wrenched from his grasp by the shroud of dark-chakra and flung to the other side of the room.

For a moment, Naruto watched and wondered if the girl had similar healing properties that Shinno and he did. Then, the seals of her skin began to shrivel and warp and the entire fortress rumbled. The dark chakra spluttered and began to fade as dust fell from the ceiling. Naruto jumped back as a large block of stone fell right where had been standing and watched as the fortress began to crumble right before his eyes. A horrible screeching noise filled the air and Naruto clasped his hands over his ears. The sounds of muffled explosions arose from the upper decks and the huge cavern began to shake and fall apart.

He ran, using his meagre chakra reserves to scale the side of the shaft where the pillar of dark chakra had come from. Chunks of stone and metal fell all around him as he darted through the corridors. Explosions continued to detonate from all around the fortress and he came to a screeching halt as a ball of fire blossomed right in front of him. He threw himself against the wall and covered his head as he blazed over him. Something was burning but Naruto ignored it as vital adrenaline surged through his body. His breaths came in short pants as he span around another corner and began to make his way to the upper decks.

Perhaps there was another transport ship. Maybe he could work out how to fly it.

He ran as fast as he could and with the last of his strength. His vision was dimming as the exhaustion and fatigue of the events of the past day caught up with him. He ran until his body had nothing left to give and then he continued to run. Finally, he could run no more and with his faltering footsteps ended. He lost his balance and fell- right into something warm, which circled him.

He looked up and saw Daichi and Towa standing there, the latter holding him carefully.

"I ordered you to leave," he murmured.

Towa looked battered and he was bleeding. Nonetheless, he responded with a sense of cockiness.

"Hatake Kakashi was my Squad Captain before you were. He really only had one rule to follow and I don't intend to explain to him why I became worse than scum."

Naruto had no idea what he was talking about and rested in his teammate's arms. He bounced and buckled as Towa and Daichi sprinted through the fortress and only opened his eyes when he heard the howling of the wind. Towa was standing in a large flying machine, where Yuuka was tending to an unconscious Komachi. Daichi moved to the front and Naruto swivelled his eyes around the hanger, where another flying machine packed with the civilians they had rescued awaited. Manning the cockpit of that one was Kage, who gave him a wave.

The flying machines lifted off with a steady hum and surged out of the hanger doors. The wind whipped in his face and Naruto watched as the flying stone fortress, the seat of the Sky Emperor, crumbled and exploded behind him. It was already beginning to fall to the ground as the two flying craft soared away.

"Mission complete, Hokage-sama," Naruto muttered. He fell asleep a second later.

* * *

><p>Sarutobi gasped as the Space-Time Technique finished. His ears were ringing as his ANBU Squad surrounded him and darkness encroached on his vision and he collapsed to the ground. He was distantly aware of being picked up and moving away from the walls before he fell unconscious.<p>

* * *

><p>Shinno watched the destruction of his fortress from the forest floor where he had been flung. His body was broken and battered, kept alive only by the medical techniques that the elderly Uzumaki worked on himself. His dark hair had turned white again and his muscles had sagged, bags of loose skun hanging limply from his gangly limbs. Something filled his vision, a robe of black and red, and he looked up at the sun obscured by the setting sun. He grunted at what he saw and closed his eyes.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>AN: And that wraps up the Sky-Country Arc. I've got the next couple of chapters planned in my head and hopefully you'll see one in less than a week. Work starts in two days so I had better go and get stuck into the paperwork that I SHOULD have been doing instead of writing. Somebody left me a review saying that I must have finished writing these ages ago and was just updating. Actually, I wrote them all in the span of a day or two, posted them on DLP and posted them here a day later. My arm has this nice ache where I rest it against the armrest. Reviews are always much appreciated- an author likes to know what the readers think of the work. Have a good one.**

**Edit: By the way- I removed a reference to Shinno in one of the earlier chapters in case anybody spotted- I was intially gonna try and tie something in and decided it was too much hassle.  
><strong>


	10. Unsanctioned Betting: Part I

**A/N: Long time, eh? I got caught up in work that I haven't had a chance to write. Here's the next part. Hopefully you'll see another one sometimes tomorrow.**

* * *

><p>He awoke feeling warm and comfortable. He could here hushed murmurs whispering all around him and tried to open his eyes. But the effort was too much and he couldn't summon the strength to move his eyelids. Feeling a pang of regret, he drifted off into sleep again.<p>

* * *

><p>The next time Naruto woke, he was much more coherent. He blinked, transitioning from sleep into active almost instantly. He seemed to be lying down in a small tent and the sun was shining brightly through the small open flap. The sound of confident and relaxed laughs of men and women filled the air as Naruto observed his surroundings. He was lying in a cot, dressed in a hospital gown and covered with pure white blankets. The tent was empty and medical equipment and charts were stacked and pinned up all around him.<p>

Somebody moved and Naruto watched as a man in scrubs entered the tent. He was carrying a clipboard and seemed genuinely surprised to see Naruto awake and observing him.

"Oh, hello!" the Medic said cheerfully. His black eyes regarded him in good humour. "Welcome back to the land of the living. How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine," came Naruto's automatic response. He paused and regarded the state of his body. "Actually, I'm…good. I'm really good."

"Excellent!" The man said excitedly. He jotted something down on his clipboard. "Upsilon Squad were happy with your progress. They did say you were more banged up than usual, though."

"Heh," Naruto scoffed, closing his eyes. "This isn't the first time I've had the ANBU medical corps treating me," he admitted.

"I see." The medic jotted something else down on his pad and looked up. "I suppose you have some questions for me."

"Where am I?" Naruto asked quietly.

"You're in Secured Zone Alpha," the medic answered. "You've been here before. We're at the edge of the Sea of Whirlpools, near the wreckage of the Sky Country naval fleet."

"Wreckage?" Naruto echoed. "Then the Hokage received my message?"

"He did," the medic confirmed with a nod. "Two ANBU platoons were sent to deal with the fleet. The counterattack was a complete success."

Naruto breathed a sigh of relief. Only one thing remained. "Konoha… is it…" His question went unanswered.

"From what I've heard, there were a few casualties," the medic admitted. "However, they were nothing when you think of what would have happened if Konoha hadn't been warned. The aerial attack was surprisingly effective."

Naruto breathed a sigh of relief. Konoha still stood.

The medic shot Naruto a side-along glance. "Rumour has it that you had a big part in defending Konoha," he said with no small amount of respect. "I guess it's to be expected of the Right Hand of God."

The right hand of what?

Naruto opened his mouth to say something when the opening to the tent flapped again and more people walked in. His eyes lit up and he grinned brightly as Komachi and Towa entered. Their masks were off, Komachi's head was covered in bandages and Towa was limping with a cane but they were alive!

"Hey, Boss!" Towa called cheerfully.

He waved exuberantly with the hand holding the walking stick. The stick blurred and something fragile and made of glass smashed. Towa winced, and then winced again when Komachi whacked him across the back of the head. He shot her a wounded look, to which she responded with a huff and turned back to the bed-ridden Naruto.

"Squad Captain," she greeted him formally with a respectful nod.

"Squad Captain," Naruto greeted back.

His face felt like it was going to split apart with joy. The happiness welling within him surged as the tent flapped opened again and the rest of his one-time squad appeared. A blur of blonde hair surged past the two wounded ANBU and slammed into Naruto. He groaned and something slammed into his chest. A hand came up to his hair and began messing it furiously while his face was pressed deep into somebody's chest. He flailed his arms, struggling to breath, and gasped in relief as the unidentified person was suddenly removed from his person.

Yuuka beamed down at him as Kage held her by the scruff of her clothes. She waved cheerfully. "Hey, cutie!" she squealed.

Kage looked at her blankly and, after giving Naruto a short nod, didn't say a word as he dragged the enthusiastic Yamanaka away to the other side of the tent. Towa was snickering and even Komachi was smiling as Naruto buried his face in his hands, trying to control his embarrassment. He looked up after a few moments and waved to Daichi. The Hyuuga grinned and gave him a thumbs-up before plonking himself on the chair next to Naruto's bed.

They were all here.

It wasn't until Daichi answered that Naruto realised he had verbalised his thoughts.

"Yep," he responded cheerfully. "All of Team Sigma has returned victorious! We're just awesome like that."

There was a flurry of movement as a squirming Yuuka escaped Kage's grip. She jumped on his bed and scuttled up to the bedhead, scooting over next to Naruto and staying out of range of Kage. Komachi and Towa walked forward on either side of his bed while Kage hovered in the background, lurking just in range of the 'team atmosphere'.

Naruto looked at his team fondly and enjoyed the camaraderie as Komachi and Towa began to bicker over something. This was the true strength of Konoha's Doctrine, the power of comradeship, and there were few bonds stronger than those forged in the hell of war. Yuuka muttered something to Naruto and pointed to her ring finger and Naruto snickered, watching as Towa spluttered and Komachi narrowed her eyes at the perky Yamanaka. Daichi mentioned something slyly and roared with laughter as Towa responded heatedly. Kage's face was blank but his lips twitched as a single word from him sent the entire team into hysterics.

Naruto closed his eyes and dozed off amidst the warmth of friendship.

He was only out of it for a short while and only woke when his instincts alerted him to more company. His eyes snapped open and he turned his head as the tent door flapped open and somebody walked in. A large, almost burly man strode in. His spiky-maned white hair trailed down his back and red lines dripped from his eyes. He had a wart on his nose, a large redcoat and a somewhat different headband wrapped around his forehead. The conversation from Team Sigma died instantly and Kage bowed his head.

"Jiraiya-sama," the enigmatic ANBU greeted quietly.

Officially, the Toad Sage had no power over the ANBU. They answered to the Hokage alone and Jiraiya, despite his reputation, was still classed as a rank-and-file_ Jonin_.

Unofficially, there was an unspoken understanding that the Toad Sage, one of the twenty or so S-ranked shinobi in the Elemental Countries, might give orders during matters of Village security that the ANBU were _encouraged_ to obey.

Naruto watched as Jiraiya of the Legendary _Sannin_ smirked at his team. The legend's arms were folded across his broad chest as his dark eyes scanned the room in an instant. Naruto almost thought the _Sannin_ gave him a considering look but when he focussed his eyes Jiraiya was looking at something else- or rather, at a pair of _something_. The Toad Sage opened his mouth and Naruto instinctively straightened, not quite sure what to expect.

"Hey, Ladies," Jiraiya said lecherously. He gave an exaggerated wink. "How do you do, my fair ANBU babes?"

Naruto's mouth dropped. _That_ was it from the man considered to be the second strongest in all of Konoha?

Yuuka rolled her eyes and jumped off Naruto's bed. "Still a sleazebag, Jiraiya-sama?" she said cutely, a sparkle in her eyes.

Jiraiya grinned. "Only for the beautiful ones, my dear," he murmured huskily.

Naruto saw Daichi roll his eyes and Towa slap a palm to his head. Komachi continued to stand straight but even her lips were twisting in a frown, while Kage looked just like he always did. Yuuka giggled flirtingly, putting a finger on her pouty lips.

"I'm sorry, Jiraiya-sama," she said chirpily. "But I prefer them short, blonde and adorable."

Jiraiya's face crumpled. Naruto made a gurgling noise from the back of his throat, his cheeks flushing, while Towa coughed to hide a laugh. Daichi was chuckling and even Komachi looked amused. Naruto turned to Kage for support, who regarded him solemnly and without emotion. Slowly, the mysterious and enigmatic man raised his hand and… gave him an encouraging thumbs-up.

Naruto scowled, trying to hide his blushing cheeks. It was with some effort that he rebuilt his professionalism and wiped the emotion off of his face.

Jiraiya had a large grin on his face as he turned to the rest of the former Sigma Squad. "Alright," he started boisterously. "Out you get. Your captain and I need to have a chat. Make sure we're not disturbed."

The atmosphere of the room changed. Komachi and Towa bowed their heads and left, Kage stalking after them silently. Daichi left with an encouraging smile to Naruto, while Yuuka gave a cheery wave and disappeared past the tent flap. Other than Naruto and Jiraiya, the medical tent was empty. The silence was almost deafening and Naruto could hear the chatter and laughter of other Shinobi around the camp. Metal clanged on metal and he supposed some of them were sparring or training.

The first person to break the silence was Jiraiya, who gave a strange little chuckle as he leered at Naruto. "So, you and that Yamanaka, eh?" he chuckled with waggled eyebrows.

Naruto cocked his head. "I don't understand, Jiraiya-sama," he said quietly.

Jiraiya grinned and held out his pinkie. Naruto stared at it blankly and it was with a pout that Jiraiya lowered it, looking despondent.

"A professional," Jiraiya grumbled. "I hate professionals. They're always so…boring." He leaned down over Naruto, and the young ANBU unconsciously shrank back. "You're not the boring type, are you?"

Naruto hesitated and thought about his life. "Probably, sir," he admitted after a moment.

"Tch," Jiraiya made a noise of disgust and lowered himself on the chair that Daichi had previously been occupying. "We'll fix that, I suppose." He leant forward and suddenly his face became serious. "I've already been over this with the rest of your squad but I'd like to hear it from you. Debrief me- tell me exactly what happened after your squad left Konoha. Leave nothing out."

Naruto spoke and recounted the journey that had started with a simple border patrol and ended with an _S-ranked_ mission to save the Village. His voice was even and his words were clinical, detached. As he spoke and described the burnt and ravaged villages Sigma squad had come across, he distantly recalled being so very angry at the time. Now though, it all seemed like a bad memory, as if it was something that had happened years ago, or something that he had read in a book. Throughout all of this, Jiraiya was mostly silent. He would interrupt every so often to ask for a specific detail or ask a seemingly random question. It probably took an hour, maybe more, but Naruto finally finished his tale and exhaled loudly.

The more he thought about it, the more exhausting it became.

"He claimed he was an Uzumaki?" Jiraiya pondered, rubbing his chin. His eyes were distant. "I wonder if that's true."

It was not a question so Naruto didn't give an answer.

"What do you think about that?" Jiraiya asked suddenly. He glanced down at Naruto, who had frozen in his spot. "An enemy of Konoha- perhaps one of the biggest ever- was a member of your clan. It raises questions, doesn't it?"

Naruto could hear the implication beneath Jiraiya statements. Shinno may have been Uzumaki. Naruto was Uzumaki. There was some profound insinuations in all of that that Naruto didn't like.

"What do I think about that?" Naruto echoed. He shrugged. "Nothing, sir."

"Nothing?" Jiraiya's good humour had gone. He leaned forward. "A man from _your_ clan has attacked Konoha. Hundreds are dead. There hasn't been such a serious incident since the attack of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox. If the Uzumaki were to blame, then how do we know that you're not linked in all of this? After all, you're part of the _Uzumaki_ Clan too."

"Uzumaki…" Naruto tested the name out on his tongue. "Uzumaki. Naruto. Ferret. ANBU. Shinobi. They're just names." He gazed at Jiraiya steadily. "I'm me, and I know where my loyalties lie."

Jiraiya stared at him seriously. Despite the look on his face, Naruto couldn't get a read on the Toad Sage. There was no killing intent, no foreboding pressure that accompanied the surging emotions of Shinobi with a high chakra capacity. In fact, if Naruto hadn't been looking at the man then he wouldn't have even known that he was in the room.

"Good answer!" Jiraiya suddenly said jauntily. He slapped Naruto on the shoulder- the blonde ANBU barely holding in a wince- and leaned back in his chair. "It's a bit wordy, but it'll do. Sorry about that, brat, but there's always protocols to follow and I'd be much happier doing it myself than letting some schmuck from T&I do it instead."

Naruto nodded. "Sir," he said neutrally.

"Speaking of names…" Jiraiya grinned. "Have you heard your new moniker? It's pretty good- _Bingo Book_ good, actually."

"What is it, sir?"

Jiraiya spread out his hands. "The Right Hand of God!" he said dramatically. "The Apprentice of the God of Shinobi, the prodigious ANBU who's completed over a thousand missions!"

Suddenly what the medic was saying before made sense. "The Right Hand of God," Naruto murmured, feeling the words around his tongue. "The Right Hand of God…" he voice was a little firmer now and a ghost of a smile appeared on his face. "I like it." He paused. "Sir."

"It _does_ have a good ring to it," Jiraiya said knowingly. "Much better than a lot of the other monikers I've heard. I once met a Iwa Nin who'd been dubbed 'Rock-Head'. The man was a bit thick. Of course, that's probably because he kept head-butting his way through battles. Effective, though- saw him smash a Samurai's plated armour in half- but it couldn't have been good for him."

"Yes, sir," Naruto struggled to keep his face straight. What do you say to that?

Jiraiya was looking grumpy. "Yes, sir, this. Yes, sir, that. You really are boring, aren't you?" He grinned. "Don't worry, kid. I pride myself on getting a reaction out of everybody. I bet a week's pay that I can make you cringe! Up for it?"

Naruto stared at him blankly.

"Great!" Jiraiya clapped. He cleared his throat and leant forward. Bending his head down, he whispered into Naruto's ear.

Naruto's eyes bulged and he jerked back away from Jiraiya, who guffawed at Naruto's incredulous expression. The young blonde ANBU felt extremely flustered and was certain that it showed on his exposed face as his mouth bobbed up and down like a goldfish.

"B-But…what?" Naruto exclaimed loudly. "I don't…what?" He shook his head. "Sir, that was…._what? Really?_"

"Yep!" Jiraiya grinned, looking extremely pleased.

"That happened?" Naruto asked with a strange sort of horrified fascination.

"Saw it happen myself," Jiraiya answered with a chuckle.

"How?" Naruto practically whispered in dread.

"It's not that hard," Jiraiya replied with a knowing glint. "See, you just need to make sure that it's asleep and…" he held out his hand. "You take three fingers and you twist them like _that_…"

"Stop!" Naruto barked.

Jiraiya stopped as Naruto's shoulders shook with supressed laughter. He chuckled and slapped the young ANBU on the back. That was all it took for Naruto to burst out in a round of uncontrollable laughter. The Toad Sage watched as Naruto continued to laugh, and his smile took on a more sympathetic tilt as the laughter became more and more hysteric. He rubbed the ANBU on the back comfortingly as Naruto struggled to keep his haphazard emotions under control.

"It's commendable to see professionalism in such a young Shinobi," Jiraiya said quietly as Naruto began to compose himself. "And if you keep it up, you'll go places. But don't hold it all in." He reached up and forced Naruto to look at him. "Trust me," the Toad Sage with deadly seriousness. "I've seen what happens when a shinobi of your calibre snaps. If we're lucky, we can usually put them down before they do too much damage. If we're not, well…"

Uchiha Itachi.

The unspoken name resounded throughout the room. Naruto took a deep breath as he regained control of himself and faced the Toad Sage again. There was a little more respect in his stance now as he looked underneath the underneath. Beneath the widely-known S-ranked Shinobi there was apparently a horrible flirt, and beneath that there was a man with a surprising amount of depth.

"Right! There's some more stuff I'm meant to go over," Jiraiya said airily. He lifted his hand and waved it off. "But I'll wait until we're back in Konoha. It'll be better if the Old Man's there to hear it as well- saves me from going over it twice. It's nothing to be concerned over, really. Just make sure you don't do anything stupid and it'll all be fine."

Naruto noticed the older man's eyes flicker to his stomach and received the implicit message with a silent nod. Jiraiya knew of the unleashing of the chakra of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox and apparently everything was fine. Naruto knew that he wasn't meant to supress or clamp down everything but he would be more than happy to shove the horrible fragments recollections of his thoughts and actions under the influence of the Kyuubi in a dark corner at the back of his mind and never think of it again.

"Now, Konoha wants you back as soon as you can," Jiraiya said, standing up off of his seat. He gave Naruto a look. "The ANBU Commander asked for Team Sigma specifically, so they probably want you to go over everything again. We've got a shipment of Sky Nin Tech leaving in a few hours. Medics say that you should be fine for light travel, so make sure you're ready."

"Yes, sir," Naruto murmured quietly.

Jiraiya gave him a nod. "Good luck, Ferret," he said and then was out of the tent in an instant.

* * *

><p>Secured Zone Alpha was the name given to the closed-off area between Fire Country and the Sea of Whirlpools where Sky Country had launched their attack on the Village Hidden in Leaves. While the immediate threat had been dealt with and the Land of Fire was safe, the repercussions of the attack would be felt for years. Sky Country had successfully demonstrated the viability of a naval and air military doctrine that had incredible potential and great implications for all of the Great Villages. The technology that remained needed to be safe-guarded until it could be destroyed or recovered and sent to Konoha.<p>

Hundreds of tents had been set up and they stretched over the sandy dunes. Squads of shinobi milled around the camp while hundreds of others stood guard and kept a constant patrol around the perimeter. The black-cloaked ANBU kept a twenty-four hour guard around the wreckage as Konoha's Research and Development Division scurried through the once-flooded hulls of the fleet. They had been dragged to shore by whatever means- possibly through Jiraiya's summons, one of the few _Class 5 summons_ in the known countries- and they were surrounded by an entire division- over one-thousand shinobi, led by Jiraiya of the Sannin.

Konoha was not taking any chances.

Well-guarded caravans entered and left the Secured Zone on a regular basis, stripping off and taking away as much of the foreign technology as possible. The sooner and quicker it was done, the less time the other nations had to plot. Naruto sat on one of the wagons in that caravan, leaning back and enjoying the warm sun on his face. The wagon jostled and bumped as the troop of horses pulled it across Konoha's highways. Animals were not commonly used for travel by Shinobi, especially since the average _Chunin_ could meet and surpass even the fastest horse, but they had their uses when heavy cargo was being transported.

This particular caravan was surrounded by two platoons of Leaf Nin, dozens of _Chunin_ being led by a _Jonin _Captain. Technically, Team Sigma was just hitching a ride with them and they were officially off-duty. However, that hadn't stopped the rest of the squad from running patrols and Kage and Yuuka patrolled the perimeter while Komachi and Towa had taken point. Daichi walked beside the caravan, keeping an eye on things with his _Byakugan_. There was another Hyuuga with them but the ANBU's eyes were far superior and it made it easier on both to share the workload.

Naruto got the feeling that the _Jonin _Captain wasn't too happy with having his authority usurped by the ANBU- but the woman was professional enough to keep her thoughts to herself. While the rest of his squad performed their duties, Naruto was happy enough to rest. He drifted off to sleep most of the time, his mind and body still recovering from the last battle with Shinno. When he was awake, he spoke to his team quietly. Kage would pass out the rations and they would sit together and eat. Komachi and Towa were always good for a laugh as the two of them bickered and fought like a pair of snappish dogs. Daichi always had a joke to say and Yuuka continued to tease Naruto mercilessly, egged on by Kage's infrequent but well-placed sardonic comments.

They helped ease the tension that Naruto felt when the other Shinobi around them continue to steal glances at him. He wasn't quite sure how far the rumours and gossip had gotten but apparently his new moniker was becoming well known. He wasn't used to the looks he was getting either. In his distant- and almost forgotten past- he recalled the looks he had received before he had joined ANBU. They had never been pleasant and while he couldn't remember what people had said he could definitely remember the tone. As a member of ANBU, he was subjected to curiosity and indifference- nobody was going to besmirch an ANBU member, no matter who it was. He had taken to his mask and his anonymity with gratefulness.

Now the shinobi eyed him differently. There was something there that Naruto had never received before. He couldn't tell if it was respect or fear. Either way, the focussed attention made him uncomfortable.

"Contact!" Daichi suddenly called out.

Naruto was jerked out of his brooding and jumped to his feet as the horses came to a halt. The shinobi around them formed a defensive line and Naruto felt a flash of chakra activate underneath him- the explosive seals embedded in the cargo activating. Should the contact prove hostile, the shinobi were under strict orders to destroy any cargo they might be carrying.

"Kage and Snake-5 are intercepting!" Daichi informed them.

Naruto stood on top of the wagon and waited patiently. After a few moments, Daichi raised a hand and made the 'all clear' sign. "Friendlies!" he called out. "Stand down!"

Naruto let out a rather deep grunt and sat back down on the wagon. He waited and watched as the shinobi around them relaxed and moved out of their defensive formations. As the caravans began to move again, the bushes rustled and the 'friendlies' came into view. Hatake Kakashi surveyed the caravan keenly, half of his face hidden behind his book. His _Genin_ team followed behind him. Naruto's eyes flickered over the three genic, seeing the bandages wrapped around Uchiha Sasuke and Konohamaru. The sight of a bruised and bandaged Konohamaru caused a pang of concern to resonate within him.

"My, my." Kakashi's voice was light-hearted but he closed his book and tucked it away. "What's all this here, I wonder?"

There was a flicker of movement. "Captain!" Towa exclaimed as he jumped back to greet his former Squad Leader. Towa straightened, his face hidden behind his mask, while Naruto watched on, his previous burst of movement actually draining him quite noticeably.

"Ah, Towa," Kakashi greeted lazily. His _genin_ watched curiously. "Still in Gamma Squad running border patrols?"

Towa's stance changed, something Naruto noted that Kakashi instantly picked up on.

"Ah, actually, I'm under Sigma Squad at the moment," he said somewhat quietly. It was only now after the rush of action and urgency of the mission had faded away that the true impact of what had happened had hit them all.

"Uh huh," uttered Kakashi. He sounded bored but Naruto could practically see the incredibly intelligent man process that little titbit of information knew that he was already making connections. He was proved correct a moment later. "So how bad was the attack?"

"What attack?" the girl, Sakura, asked from behind him. She sounded confused. The Uchiha was paying close attention, his hands in his pockets, but Konohamaru looked utterly confused.

"There's been an attack?" he echoed his teammate dumbly.

"Now, now, children, the grown-ups are talking," Kakashi admonished lazily.

Towa shook his head with something like awe. "You still have it, Captain," he praised respectfully. "What gave it away?"

"I looked underneath the underneath," Kakashi said lazily. He poked Konohamaru, who scowled. "Pay attention, kids. You see, we were intercepted by somebody who I know works in a reconnaissance team. When we came out, I could see you and Komachi but I don't see the rest of your team. Furthermore, we have two full-strength platoons escorting a small caravan- which is an indication of a sensitive or important mission, while we have Ferret lazing about up there looking about as banged up as the rest of you. What does that indicate, Sasuke?"

"There was a fight," Sasuke said quietly. He paused. "You've also implied that there were casualties."

Kakashi nodded, looking serious. "Sigma Team is an ANBU division directly underneath the Hokage. Essentially, Sigma Team enforces the Hokage's will both on and off the battlefield. For you to be working under Sigma Team means that you were drafted. That protocol is only used in cases of serious Village emergencies. Hence, an attack…"

There was a flicker of movement and Naruto appeared before them. "The enemy struck at the border patrols and at the village itself," Naruto told Kakashi quietly. "The final death toll is unknown at this point."

_That_ said a lot to Kakashi, and his uncovered eye twitched. His _genin_ looked stricken, even the Uchiha was affected- although he hid it well. Sakura gasped, her hands flying up to her mouth, and Konohamaru clenched his fists.

"There was significant damage to non-essential village infrastructure," Naruto continued, briefing the elite _Jonin_ on all he knew. "Gamma Team's combat efficiency was cut in half. Tiger-2 is Acting Captain."

'Combat efficiency' could be affected in many ways. The most common was the incapacitation or death of members of the squad. In blunt terms, Naruto had just told Kakashi that half of Gamma Squad had been killed. Only two squads had come away unaffected, as they had been outside the engagement area. With the survival of Komachi, Towa and Captain Uzuki, only thirteen members of Gamma Team remained.

Sakura looked tearful Konohamaru thunderstricken. Sasuke didn't appear to show any emotion but Naruto saw his fists clench on his white shorts.

"Do...do we know anything about civilian casualties?" Sakura pleaded hesitantly.

"As far as I know, there were no civilian casualties," Naruto told her gently and Sakura sagged in relief.

"What about the Old Man?" Konohamaru demanded. He looked furious.

Naruto regarded him for a moment. Then, in a blur of movement, he reached out and walloped him across the head. Konohamaru let out a cry as the force of the blow sent stumbling back. He staggered and collapsed on his bum, clutching his head.

"Somebody like you is a hundred years too early to be worrying about someone like the Hokage!" He snapped. "Especially since you're covered in bandages! What did you do this time? If this was another firecracker incident…"

"Waah!" Konohamaru shrieked and dove out of the way as Naruto advanced, an aura of murder surrounding him. "No, no, no! A missing nin did this!"

Naruto paused and the aura grew thicker. Konohamaru gulped. "You can't even clean your room!" Naruto bellowed angrily. "What are you doing fighting a missing nin?"

As Konohamaru blubbered and stuttered, cringing in fear and utterly distracted from his previous question, Naruto watched him from behind his mask fondly. At that moment, he had this strange sense of a connection with the Third Hokage. Was this what picking on Naruto felt like to the Old Man?

"It was an interesting mission," Kakashi drawled. He yawned. "I tell you what, we may as well accompany you so we can tell you all about it. I could do with the company, too. After all," his eyes flickered to his Genin Team, "it's boring doing missions all _by yourself._"

His Genin team looked completely depressed by that and Naruto's lips twitched.

Hazing was awesome.

* * *

><p>The rest of the journey back to Konoha was slow but uneventful. Naruto took the time to rest and regain his strength. He could already feel his strength coming back, his natural stamina and endurance restoring him in days where another shinobi might have taken weeks. During this time, he listened to Kakashi's mission debrief with interest. Apparently the client Naruto had assigned to them had lied about the mission parameters. It was fairly uncommon, as clients were usually screened on the way in, so somebody was going to pay. Kakashi, being Kakashi, had decided to continue on with the potentially B or A-ranked mission and had encountered an <em>A-rank<em> Missin Nin from the Village Hidden in Mist- one of the seven swordsmen, no less.

Naruto knew many who would have paid to have watched that fight- one of Konoha's top elite _Jonin_ facing off against one of Kiri's _Seven Swordsmen_. According to Kakashi, it had been a close fight but the Zabuza's apprentice had disabled the _genin_ and stalled Kakashi long enough for Zabuza to make his escape- just as a horde of mercenaries descended onto the bridge. A single water technique from the Missing Nin had swept them all away and Kakashi hadn't pursued. This Gato must have either been incredibly stupid- or had something up his sleeve- to double-cross an elite shinobi, especially one who had mastered the Art of Silent Killing. Unless he had a squad of _A-ranked_ Shinobi in his pocket, or he had somehow convinced one of the rare _S-rank_ Shinobi to help him, Naruto didn't think the self-made millionaire would live much longer.

After that, Team Kakashi fell into position and joined the caravan for the remainder of the trip. Naruto idly noticed how Uchiha Sasuke would watch him from the corner of his eye with an emotion that the Uzumaki couldn't quite decipher. He ignored him and focussed on his surroundings, catching glimpses of ANBU Squads flashing through the trees, his tattoo pulsing as coded messages were sent and received. The trees began to get thicker and taller and the patrols became more and more frequent as they approached Konoha until, two days later, they finally arrived.

Naruto had taken point with Daichi and eyed the village critically as they approached it. The enormous walls loomed over them, looking undamaged. On the outside, Konohagakure looked completely untouched. The biggest different he noticed immediately was at the gates. They were sealed, surrounded by lines of grim-faced shinobi as giant queues formed behind them. Everything was being searched thoroughly while a tall burly man with a bandanna wrapped around his head shouted instructions over the clamour.

"If you're here to ask about relatives, move to the left! If you're here as a client, move to the right! For your safety, all visitors to Konoha will be searched! If you are found to be in possession of any contraband, you will be detained and interrogated! Once you have been allowed into the Village, make sure you stay _behind_ the tape! Several parts of the village are still unsafe! Stay behind the tape and follow the instructions of your guide!"

The caravan moved past the queues of civilians. There were the clients, some who looked incredibly rich and annoyed at how they were being treated as they were patted down and searched. Then there were the small, huddled group of friends and relatives that had arrived from outlying towns and settlements. Many of them looked miserable as patient _Chunin_ moved through them, giving out dockets and checking thick scrolls. As Naruto moved past one group, he heard a woman burst out into tears as the _Chunin_ patted her on the shoulder awkwardly.

That had been incentive to strengthen his resolve but, as the caravan passed through the great gates, his breath hitched and his eyes widened behind his mask as he looked over Konoha, the village he had sworn to serve.

Entire swathes of the village had been reduced to rubble. Buildings had collapsed, ripped apart by powerful concussive forces that had scattered debris all around the village. The ground was pockmarked, craters replacing roads, shops and homes. Several parts of the village looked flooded and many of the landmarks were gone. Much of it was fenced off with bright yellow tape and hundreds of shinobi crawled through the rubble, working diligently on their assigned missions. Naruto ignored the gasps he heard from the shinobi around him and forced his emotions down. He concentrated on the truly important targets. The Hokage's Tower rose in the distance and the Hokage's Monument loomed above it, untouched. The Hospital and the Ninja Academy also remained intact and Naruto exhaled quietly. The defence had been a success, then. As long as the civilian population had evacuated properly, the outer buildings could be rebuilt without too much fuss.

The long-term implications of having crucial services and locations destroyed would have been frightening. From what he could see in a purely objective viewpoint, any lasting damage to the village was minimal.

He glanced over at Kakashi and the genin, truly curious to see their reactions. Both Sakura and Konohamaru had tears in their eyes as they surveyed their bombed home. Sasuke looked furious, his hands clenching and a single _Sharigan tomoe_ swirling in his eye. Kakashi looked relaxed and utterly bored, but the two exchanged glances and Naruto inclined his head.

"Look at the village," Kakashi commanded. He needn't have bothered- his genin couldn't take their eyes off of it. "Memorise it and then look at yourselves. Take what you're feeling and really look at it. That's the feeling of seeing the place that holds your heart stomped on, and knowing there's nothing you can do about it. Take in that frustration, that anger, that helplessness, that _hatred…_"

Kakashi eyed Sasuke for a moment.

"…and throw it away," he concluded grimly.

Sasuke jerked, and Konohamaru and Sakura gaped.

"Hatred will not help you here," he said quietly. He gestured around. "This war is already over. The enemy was found and killed. We've had our revenge. But, knowing that and seeing your home, do you feel any better? Konohamaru?"

"No!" Konohamaru hissed between clenched teeth, his eyes moist.

"It's hard," Kakashi concluded and placed a hand on Konohamaru's head. "It's human instinct to want revenge, to hurt those who hurt us, and in many ways it's warranted. But you always need to think '_what happens now?', _because vengeance isn't going to help you here."

"Hatred is power," Sasuke muttered tightly. His hands were shaking.

"It's a type of power," Kakashi agreed. "But it's not something that can be used all of the time. Here, there is no enemy to attack, no battle to fight. Your hatred is worthless. However, your kindness is priceless."

All three genin seemed transfixed.

"When the battles are done and the fighting is over, shinobi go home and they begin to rebuild their homes and their lives," Kakashi continued sombrely. "They comfort comrades who have lost loved ones, they help clear the wreckage and rebuild their houses. They sacrifice sleep and food and money for the greater good of the village. Most importantly, they remember the ones who fought and died to protect this dream we call Konoha and they respect and honour them. These heroes join those on the monuments and become engrained in our Will of Fire, a memory and an ideal to uphold when the next war occurs."

He turned to them, no expression visible in his flat, grey eye.

"What will you do, shinobi of Konoha?" He asked his genin. "Will you hate or will you help?"

"I'll help!" Konohamaru shouted loudly. He clenched his fists, his cheeks flushed with emotion. "I'll help rebuild the Village!" His tears were gone and his face showed nothing but determination. He gave a reckless grin. "After all, it's going to be my village one day!"

Sakura swatted him, but she was smiling, and even Sasuke gave solemn nod as he stared at the devastation. Kakashi seemed to smile behind his mask and then turned his head to stare at Naruto. Naruto started, abruptly realising that he had been eavesdropping on a personal team moment, and bowed his head in apology. Kakashi shrugged and waved it off and, with one last wave, led his team away to begin assisting in the recovery efforts.

"He's a good man," Towa said quietly as he came up to join Naruto. The rest of Team Sigma joined him.

"He knows what he's talking about," Kage remarked quietly. "We've done our part- we've carried the hatred and vengeance of our village and delivered it to the enemy."

"I wonder what we can do now?" Yuuka mused quietly.

"You can rest."

Naruto jerked- and he wasn't the only one- and spun around to where the synthesised, genderless voice had originated from. He paused and joined the rest of his team in saluting the figure that had just appeared. A bright silver mask adorning his or her face, the ANBU Commander revealed absolutely nothing as he or she stared down at Team Sigma.

"Team Sigma, you have served your village well," the Commander said in a monotone, expressionless voice. It was heavily distorted- a mix of high and low pitch tones blending together that gave the impression of two people speaking at once. "You are hereby on official leave until declared otherwise. Ferret, stay. The rest, dismissed!"

"Sir!" Five puffs of smoke and scatterings of leave brushed past Naruto, who remained where he was.

"Come with me," the ANB U Commander ordered.

Naruto obeyed and disappeared in a flicker of movement as the two ANBU darted through the Village at quick speeds. Naruto had always thought he was fast but he struggled to keep up with the Commander, and he got the strangest feeling that the silver-faced figure was taking it easy on him. He followed behind the Commander silently as the enigmatic figure took him to the hospital, trying his best to ignore the slow pit of dread forming in the bottom of his stomach. There seemed to be two Platoons of ANBU on guard in and around the building and the guards got even more packed in as he traversed deeper and deeper through the hospital hallways.

When the ANBU Commander paused at a door and motioned for Naruto to take it, the young blonde knew exactly what he would see when he opened it. He steeled himself and gently opened the door. He walked in, ignoring the three ANBU hiding in the shadows as he stared down at the Third Hokage, who lay in his bed looking older and wearier than Naruto had ever seen him before.

"Come, Naruto," Sarutobi murmured and coughed. He sounded dazed. "We have much to discuss."

* * *

><p><strong>Directive #5:<strong> _ An ANBU must have a mind that will not yield, able to endure hard work, training and the rigors of combat_


	11. Unsanctioned Betting: Part II

**A/N: You might have noticed the spiffy new image that accompanies this story now. It's an awesome piece of art done by Lutris, who's got quite the talent in the art department. Here's my official thanks for him. Cheers, mate. Thanks to the guys at DLP in helping me get this chapter up.  
><strong>

* * *

><p>The door behind him closed quietly yet Naruto didn't move. He felt frozen, stuck to the spot, as his eyes widened and his cheeks paled from behind his mask. Never before had he seen the Third Hokage in such a state, clinging to his bed-rail with feeble hands than trembled under the strain of movement. The ANBU Commander gently brushed past him and the sensation was enough to get Naruto to recover. As when faced with anything that threatened to disturb his stability, Naruto fell back to his training and cleared his mind of all emotion.<p>

"Hokage-sama," he greeted quietly and bowed deeply.

The ANBU Commander hovered by the Hokage's side as the old man studied a pile of papers on his blanketed lap. Naruto waited patiently as Sarutobi studied the document in front of him and gestured to something. The Commander nodded and rolled the document up into a scroll. One of the ANBU silently moved out of the shadows to take it, promptly disappearing in a blur as the Commander turned back to the Hokage.

"Ferret," Sarutobi said in a quavering voice. He coughed as Naruto straightened. "Make us some tea."

Naruto obediently walked over to the other side of the room as the Hokage and the Commander conversed in low, serious tones. With deft hands, Naruto carefully assembled a cup of tea from the steaming pot of water, adding just the right amount of sugar and tea leaves that he knew that Hokage liked. Once finished, he carefully balanced the cup of tea and took it over to the bed. The Hokage paused in his discussion and looked up, showing a look of wearied gratefulness.

"Ah, thank you," he murmured quietly as he took the cup of tea.

He took a sip, mulling it over in his mouth. Suddenly, he burst out into a round of coughs and the Commander quickly took the tea out of his hands. Naruto hovered around the bedside hesitantly, unsure of what to do, until Sarutobi beckoned him over. He approached, trying to hear the Hokage as something croaked from his throat.

"Hokage-sama?" Naruto asked quietly.

"Closer," Sarutobi coughed. Naruto obeyed. "Closer…"

Naruto bent- and realised his mistake too late. With a sudden flash of movement, the Hokage wrenched his arm up, grabbed his ear and _twisted_.

"Ow! Ow ow ow ow ow ow!" Naruto cried out. "What the hell…ow!"

"There's too much sugar in this tea!" Sarutobi barked into his ear. He released the young ANBU and huffed, folding his arms. "As to be expected from my stupid assistant- you can't even make tea!"

Naruto clutched at his ear. "You like it this way!" he snapped, all formality gone. "Two teaspoons of leaves and three of sugar!"

"Fool!" Sarutobi thundered. His arm blurred and a scroll was propelled into Naruto's forehead, which sent him sprawling back on the ground. "I have three teaspoons of leaves and two of sugar! I have for years – " He paused and frowned.

As Naruto climbed back to his feet with a noticeable red mark on his face, he watched as the Hokage took his cup of tea and had another sip. He swished it around his mouth, with a look of consideration on his face, before swallowing and glancing down at the cup.

"Oh," the old man said in a surprised voice. "It _is_ how I like it. Excellent. However…" with a crash, the cup of tea fell to the ground. "It's too hot! You, boy!" He thrust a finger in Naruto's direction. "Are you trying to assassinate your poor infirm Hokage?"

"Infirm, my arse!" Naruto growled. "You crazy old bastard!"

"You incompetent little brat!" Sarutobi thundered.

The two butted heads, two pairs of narrowed eyes glaring into each other. Naruto's lips were twitching and he let out a rather high-pitched giggle of hysterical laughter, his fingers constantly furling and unfurling. Was this it? Was this the moment when he finally snapped?

"If I may…" somebody began.

"Shut up!" Both Sarutobi and Naruto roared at exactly the same time. It took Naruto a few moments to comprehend what he had just said, however, and he gulped. "Um…sir," he added uneasily.

The ANBU Commander regarded him from behind a solid silver mask and Naruto carefully backed away from the Hokage, who was rubbing his forehead and grumbling under his breath- no doubt about him. He adopted a formal stance and straightened his shoulders as the Commander leaned down, regarding him with that eerie mask until they were practically touching.

"I'm going to talk now, Ferret." There was absolutely no emotion in the Commander's synthesised voice. "Or will you have a problem with that?"

"No, sir!" Naruto snapped immediately.

The Commander straightened and turned back to the Hokage, who eyed Naruto gruffly. Naruto remained at attention as the Commander took a place at his left-hand side, while the Hokage studied his apprentice. His face softened and the hard, rigid lines around his eyes softened.

"In all seriousness," Sarutobi murmured. "You have performed exceptionally well, Naruto."

Naruto swelled with pride.

"Although, I suppose that it's to be expected from the Right Hand of God," Sarutobi mused afterwards.

Behind his mask, Naruto twitched. Had the old man heard about that already?

"Do you like that name, Naruto?" Sarutobi asked, looking genuinely curious.

"It's…flattering, Hokage-sama," Naruto admitted. His cheeks felt hot.

"It's an impressive name," Sarutobi agreed. He folded his hands in his lap. "An impressive name for an impressive Shinobi."

Naruto grinned, beaming with pride from behind his mask.

"I mean,_ I_ had already encountered my first S-ranked Shinobi when I was a year younger than you," Sarutobi added.

Naruto paused. "Eh?" he uttered, but the Hokage ignored him.

"And, of course, my battle went far more smoothly than yours," Sarutobi continued, as if he hadn't heard Naruto. "I didn't get punched around like a training dummy and I did manage to score a confirmed kill on my opponent."

"Oh," said Naruto, his smile fading.

"Indeed," Sarutobi agreed. He stroked his goatee thoughtfully. "I didn't get beat up like you did either. I didn't even need to visit the hospital- my opponent never even touched me. But, of course, don't feel bad, Naruto! After all, we're talking about _you_ here. What you did was quite the achievement!"

Sarutobi smiled benignly at the crestfallen Naruto. "Don't worry, Naruto. One day, I'm sure you'll catch up." He paused. "Admittedly, perhaps not for a very long time, but one day- I'm certain."

"Uh huh," uttered Naruto, giving the miserable old bastard a baleful look.

Sarutobi clapped his hands once. "Alas, we cannot let the 'Right Hand of God' leave here feeling sorry for himself!" He cried out rather enthusiastically. He waved Naruto away. "Off you go. I'm sure somebody somewhere could use a extra hand doing the grunt work outside."

Naruto turned to leave.

"By the way, Naruto," Sarutobi called out. "Whenever you hear your new moniker, I just want you to remember one thing." Naruto turned his head as Sarutobi rasied his hand. "I do many things with my 'right hand'. Do you truly wish to replace i?"

Naruto was gone before he had finished the sentence, an enormous crack and puff of smoke instantly enveloping him as he practically fled from the dirty-minded Hokage. Sarutobi's mocking smile softened and his features took on an expression of pride. Then, a moment later, he dissolved in a round of loud, hacking coughs, and his strength practically faded away. The Commander was there in an instant, gently lowering the Hokage back on his bed and adjusting his pillows.

"He's a good boy," the Hokage murmured. His hands clenched. "But he's still too young." He eyed the Commander. "I don't have time to be sick, old friend."

The Commander gently wiped away a trail of spittle from the Hokage's chin. "Nonetheless, you _are _sick," he or she said tonelessly. "You are not well. You must rest. Allow others to antagonise your apprentice."

"I will get better," Sarutobi murmured. "The medics are doing their best work."

The Commander paused. Then, the cloaked figure began speaking. "Things would go smoother if we were to… "

"No!" Sarutobi's voice was like a whiplash and the Commander visible recoiled. An instant later, the Hokage sighed. "Please. Allow me to indulge my sentimentality and one of the few people I have left."

"Your orders are clear, Hokage-sama," the Commander intoned. Nothing in the person's posture gave away any emotion but the Hokage could tell that the ANBU Commander was displeased.

"I mean it," he said quietly as nestled into the blankets.

"I will not send anybody," the ANBU Commander promised.

A moment later, the Third Hokage was dozing off.

* * *

><p>At the same time, on the roof of the hospital, Naruto had lost his smile and was trembling.<p>

"Hokage-sama…" he whispered into the wind.

Naruto wasn't quite sure how long he'd been on the roof, his mask off as he stared out at the bustling village below him. Hundreds, if not thousands, of Shinobi worked together to remove the debris and cart off the rubble as the slow process of rebuilding began. The sun shone brightly in the sky, a stark contrast to what Naruto was feeling at the moment. His mood was rather melancholy as he felt a familiar presence appear behind him as somebody joined him on the roof.

"The Third Hokage is not well," the ANBU Commander said quietly.

"I know," Naruto replied. His smiled bitterly. "Hokage-sama is a good actor, I'll give him that, but I've been putting up with his little tantrums for years now. I can tell when he's serious and when he's putting on a show."

The Commander regarded him. "He will recover." There was certainty in that strange voice. "Slowly, but it will happen. The best Medic-Nin in the Village are attending to him _very_ carefully."

Naruto nodded silently and the Commander shifted, turning is head and staring out over the village.

"It's a pity that the best Medic-Nin in the Land of Fire is not available," the Commander mused to nobody in particular. Naruto stiffened. "Senju Tsunade would make things go much smother. Unfortunately, the Hokage has ordered that I leave her be, and I cannot go against the orders of the Hokage."

"I see," Naruto murmured. He eyed the Commander for a few moments then turned his head and closed his eyes, letting the wind brush over his exposed face.

"Let us talk about other matters for now," the Commander said after a few moments. "You and the shinobi you drafted into Sigma Squad performed exceptionally well, far beyond the call of duty of a regular shinobi. You conduct under fire was exemplary and your actions have saved this village twice over. You are to be commended."

"Thank you, sir," Naruto said hollowly.

"As such, your promotion to _A-rank _has been confirmed and your pay will be adjusted accordingly," the Commander continued quietly. "You have been credited with an S-ranked mission vital to Village Security and will reap the benefits accordingly." The Commander leant forward towards him. "If I were you, Ferret, I would not get attached to your Chunin rank."

Naruto started.

"Your actions have shown that you are more than ready for the additional responsibilities and duties that come with the rank of _Jonin_," the Commander finished. "It's only a matter of time."

"Sir." Naruto acknowledged that with a nod.

The Commander paused significantly. Then, speaking slowly, the person continued on. "You have experienced much over the past week. It is vital that shinobi are given time to rest and recuperate. As such, your entire squad has been granted two weeks full leave without restriction."

Naruto felt stunned. Leave without restriction- that meant that he was able to travel anywhere he wanted throughout the Land of Fire for the next two weeks. The wheels in his head turned and he turned to the Commander, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Hypothetically, Sir," he began. "If I wanted to spend some time outside of Konoha during my leave, where do you think would be a good place to visit?"

Naruto got the strangest sense that the Commander was smiling underneath the mask. "I've heard Crater City is an excellent place to visit at this time of the year," Naruto was told. "Its festivals make it a very popular destination for tourists. Even our most prominent shinobi take the time to visit."

"Yes, sir," Naruto said, his face beginning to fill with determination. "One more thing, sir. I happened to meet Jiraiya a little while ago and he made me very curious about the Legendary Three. Would you happen to know where I could find out some more information?"

Naruto waited with bated breath as the Commander peered down at him from behind that strange gleaming silver mask. "You are in luck, Ferret," the Commander conceded. A gloved hand reached into the beige coat and pulled out a folder. "I happen to have a recent report on my person. Be sure to follow proper protocol once you're finished."

"Thank you, sir." Naruto's voice resonated with emotion.

"One more thing." The Commander reached into the thick beige cloak and pulled out a porcelain mask. Naruto took it, his eyes widening as he saw the features. "A replacement for the one destroyed. I think it would suit you much better the backup one that you're using."

Naruto took off the blank-faced mask he had been wearing and replaced it with the new mask. It fit his face perfectly and Naruto breathed in deeply through the filters. The Commander nodded approvingly as Naruto bowed his head in thanks.

"At ease, ANBU," the Commander said and disappeared without as much as a flicker of movement.

Naruto sat down on the edge of the roof and opened the file. It was a rather small file and Naruto was able to review it twice before he was satisfied. Then, his hands glowing with moulded fire-elemental chakra, he turned to folder into ash and stood up.

There were things to do.

* * *

><p>Full Leave without restriction was uncommon, especially for both the higher-ranked and newly-minted shinobi. This privilege gave shinobi permission to leave the village without notifying the Administrative Office, or requesting special dispensation. A shinobi could leave the village whenever they wanted and journey all over the Land of Fire without restriction. They didn't have to report in and nothing was expected of them until they returned to the village. Newly-minted shinobi were almost never given this, as they were too young and inexperienced to be fending for themselves without the logistical support of a Hidden Village- even if they were in friendly territory. Higher-ranked shinobi, such as the Jonin, were also rarely given this type of leave. Their bounties in the Bingo Book drew in hunters, mercenaries and adventurers looking to make some 'easy' money. Even some of the best Jonin could be ambushed or caught off guard and the Village could not afford to lose too many of their elite. Generally, Full Leave without restriction was reserved for the shinobi in the middle- the<em> Chunin<em> who were experienced enough to take care of themselves, unimportant enough to stay out of trouble and irrelevant enough as not to be missed.

However, there were two notable exceptions- and Naruto wanted to find one of them. A quick trip to the Administrative Office had allowed him access to the information he needed to get his 'holiday' underway. There had been the inference that Naruto was to take the remnants of Gamma Team with him- or why would the Commander had given the whole team two weeks off?

He or she wasn't that nice.

Konoha had been split up into over two dozen different districts. Sectors 1 and 2 contained major strategic assets, such as the Hokage's Residence, the Ninja Academy and the Hospital, whereas Sectors 3 & 4 had been assigned for minor but still important departments, such as the Office of Trade, Konoha's Banking Guild and Konoha's Industrial Zone. Sectors 5 and 6 were the first residential districts and contained the nicest and most expensive homes and houses. It was where the Nara, Yamanaka and Akimichi Clans resided. Sector 8 belonged entirely to the Hyuuga Clan and was walled off. The strip of land between Sector 8 and Sector 5 and been deemed Sector 7, which was made of a rows of apartment buildings. It was nice, if immodest district, populated primary by Shinobi. It was the first place that Naruto chose to visit as Komachi and Towa lived in the area. Their apartments were on the third level of a round cylinder-like building, located in rooms _378 and 379._

Naruto climbed the stairs and opened the doors to the third floor. His eyes surveyed the hallway, absently noting the thick iron and sound-proofed doors of the apartments around him. He tapped the wall, listening to the heavy thud. There was no echo, and Naruto would bet that the walls were completely solid. He nodded approvingly. If an enemy shinobi detonated a _Grade 1 _Explosive Note in the hallway, the apartments would be completely shielded from harm.

Naruto strolled down the hallway and turned a corner. The closer he got to the two rooms the easier he was able to hear the racket that was coming from them. It was with some bemusement that Naruto watched Komachi and Towa practically scream at each other in the hallway, their voices rising up in unison as they bellowed at each other unrelentingly. Komachi had re-tied her bandages to cover one half of her head, while her hair spilled down her shoulder on the other side. Her face was red and her eyes were narrowed furiously as Towa leaned on his door, smirking at her.

"Fuck you!" Komachi howled angrily. Naruto had never heard so much emotion from the woman before.

"You'd like that, _slut!_" Towa retorted.

Komachi leaned forward, her fingers curving as if she wanted to reach over and rip Towa apart. "Call me that again and I'll chop_ it_ off!" she snarled.

Towa met her challenge. "Try it, bitch!" he snarled back.

The two ANBU agents glared at each other, each breathing deeply with flushed faces. There was something lurking beneath the surface, a tension that Naruto could feel but could not explain, and he watched as the two adults finished their heated exchange. Both Komachi and Towa snorted at the exact same time, turned their backs and walked into their apartments. The doors simultaneously slammed shut and the floor shuddered.

Naruto cocked his head, trying to comprehend exactly what he had seen. There had been signs of bickering in the squad before but Komachi and Towa had never shown hostility of that level before. He frowned, suddenly wondering if asking the two of them to accompany them was a good idea. His doubts only lasted a second before he shrugged them off- Komachi and Towa had both proven themselves during the Blitz.

He approached both doors and decided to try Komachi first. He knocked three times and waited. There was no answer. Frowning, he knocked again and still received no answer. He tried Towa and it was much the same. Naruto began to feel annoyed and heaved a sigh of exasperation. He moulded his chakra and allowed it to pool in his hands. Flexing his fingers, he slammed one hand on Komachi's door and one hand on Towa's door.

It came off almost like an explosive tag. The floors shook and the doors rattled loudly on their hinges. A loud, deep gong-like noise resonated throughout the hallway and into the apartments as the chakra interacted with the solid metal. There was movement and both doors opened. Naruto began to smile but it froze on his face as Komachi and Towa appeared with livid expressions on their face and gleaming metal instruments in their hands. They had let them fly before they had seen Naruto, and the young blonde ANBU was seemingly unprepared for the sudden onslaught, several kunai slamming into his chest and a senbon sliding into his temple.

He fell as Komachi and Towa froze, their faces showing their dawning shock and comprehension- and then exploded in a puff of smoke. Both ANBU agents were still as Naruto shook off the dizziness that came with a quick _body-replacement-technique_ and stood up. A fire extinguisher lay where he had been standing with several kunai and senbon in its punctured shell. Wisps of whitish foam and gas began leaking out as Naruto gazed at his teammates steadily.

"Are you done trying to kill your Captain?" He asked them emotionlessly.

Komachi looked horrified and Towa looked sheepish. Almost in unison, they straightened to attention and fell back on their military protocols. Naruto shook his head in wonderment at the two of them.

"After everything that happened, I thought that we could hang together," Naruto said, his tone rather light for somebody who almost died a few moments ago. Komachi and Towa exchanged looks as the young ANBU continued. "I know this great ramen place we could all go to."

Towa coughed. "Um... no offence, but…"

He was cut off. "I said," Naruto interrupted loudly. "We should _really_ get together. Understand?" Naruto gave a brilliant smile and Towa swallowed and nodded.

"Sounds good," Towa said faintly.

Komachi still looked shell-shocked but she gave a wordless nod as well.

"Good," Naruto said happily. He gave them the directions. "Have fun trying to kill each other," he called over his shoulder as he started to walk down the hallway. Behind him, Komachi and Towa began arguing in hushed whispers that got progressively louder and louder until they were screaming at each other again.

What a pair of weirdos.

* * *

><p>Daichi was next. The Hyuuga Clan Compound took up the entirety of Sector 8. Large, thick walls enclosed the entire sector, cutting it off from public access or view. Sealing Experts had done some work on them- especially in the last decade- and while these walls were nowhere near as strengthened as the walls surrounding Konoha, they held many nasty surprises for any intruder, curious civilian or innocent squirrel wanting to climb over them. The only legitimate way into the compound was through the main gate, where two Hyuuga stood guard in their pristine white robes.<p>

Naruto approached them, knowing that they had probably noticed him a while ago if he were to judge the bulging veins around their _Byakugan._ As the personal assistant of the Hokage, he had visited the Hyuuga Compound many times to deliver messages or packages on behalf of the Hokage's Office. While had never been invited inside, most of the usual guard rotation knew who he was, mask or not.

"ANBU-sama," one of the guards bowed, his long silky hair falling over his shoulders as he did so. With his delicate features, good grooming and liberal use of fragrances, the Hyuuga man looked more feminine than the woman standing next to him.

"Ferret," the woman drawled. Her Byakugan had a purplish tint to it, a common trait for female members of the Hyuuga Clan, and her hair had been cut short, bobbing over her shoulders. "What brings the illustrious "Right Hand of God" to our humble home?"

"Hello, Akemi," Naruto greeted as he nodded politely at the female Hyuuga.

A former Jonin who had retired from injuries sustained in the Third Shinobi War, Akemi was Naruto's usual contact with the Hyuuga. Although a powerful lightning technique had caused irreparable damage to her central nervous system, Akemi had some of the best eyes amongst the Hyuuga and was almost a permanent feature at the front gate.

"No messages today?" Akemi asked curiously. Naruto noticed the involuntary twitching of her fingers as he shook his head.

"I need to speak to somebody inside," he said.

"Oh?" Akemi uttered, suddenly looking interested. She pushed herself off the wall and surveyed Naruto carefully. "Has a Hyuuga maiden caught your heart?" She grinned. "We _are_ very beautiful, so it's to be expected."

"Hyuuga Daichi," Naruto replied with a roll of his eyes.

"_Oh!_" Akemi looked like she had won the lottery. "So it's like _that_, is it?"

The young, blonde ANBU just sighed. "Can you get him, please?" he asked exasperatedly. Akemi waved the other guard away as she peered at her junior colleague with interest. "And would you stop spreading rumours? I know you started them."

"I did no such thing!" Akemi protested indignantly. She drew herself up and threw a sneer on her face- one that matched her features quite well. "I am a Hyuuga. We are above such things."

"Yeah, whatever," Naruto remarked, ignoring her pomposity. "Hokage-sama got this strange idea that I was taking time during my errands to go and sleep on the Inuzuka farm lands or something. He beat the crap out of me for it."

"He hit you?" Akemi looked positively scandalised, but Naruto knew better as he spied the gleam in the gossipy woman's eye.

"He called it 'sparring', but yeah, he kicked me up and down Training Ground 6," Naruto answered with a shudder.

"Interesting," Akemi mused. "I wonder if I can get him to do it again…"

"Akemi…" Naruto warned. He suddenly grinned. "Actually, the next time he accuses me of anything like that I'll just say I'm sleeping with _you_!" Akemi jerked back as Naruto continued obliviously. "Yeah! If he thinks you're slacking on the job then maybe you'll get invited to the 'sparring' session too!"

Akemi stared at him with a strange expression. "You have no idea what that actually…." She began but her partner had arrived and whispered something in ear. Akemi straightened and her good humour faded away.

"Uzumaki-sama," she said politely, even adding a little bow. "Daichi is currently attending our afternoon sparring sessions. You have been invited to enter and watch until he is done."

Naruto's eyes widened. The Hyuuga were very reclusive, partly as a result to protect their bloodline and techniques from eavesdroppers and partly because, as a whole, they believed themselves to be 'above' the common shinobi or civilian. Few people were rarely invited into the Compound- Naruto had only ever heard of the Hokage entering the walled sector.

"It's an honour," he responded carefully. He eyed Akemi for a few more moments but her face had gone blank. "I've never been invited to come in before."

"Now you have, Uzumaki-sama," the other guard responded. He bowed. "Hiashi-sama approved it himself. Please enter- our sparring sessions are almost over and it would be a shame if you missed the Final Dance."

Naruto was escorted into the Hyuuga Clan Compound by Akemi and marvelled at the difference that a meter of stone made. The street outside the walled compound was neat but bland. There were no distinguishing features, just a grey cobbled road and a dulled white wall. The moment he passed through the gate colour assaulted his vision. It was as if he just stepped inside a different part of the world as a magnificent garden rose around him. Bright red, white and pink flowers adorned the ground as perfectly trimmed hedges lined the black marble paths. The grass swayed gently in the wind as Naruto was led past the gardens and towards the buildings. Unlike the circular and cylinder nature of many of Konoha's buildings, these were long and straight, with perfect edges and angular sloping roofs. It was architecture of the time before the Great Villages, symmetrical and neatly ordered.

Akemi led him through an archway and the sun disappeared from view. He moved past it and entered a great courtyard. The perimeter of the courtyard was shaded and dozens of white-robed Hyuuga stood there, watching. In the centre of the courtyard, the sun shone down brilliantly as dozens of Hyuuga sparred against each other. They were lined up in perfect symmetry, moving in unison with each other as they circled and dodged each other. Akemi led Naruto past the some of the spectators, who seemed to ignore his presence entirely, and took him to the edge of the courtyard. She stopped and the two of them watched the graceful spectacle before them.

Right in front of them, Naruto saw two young Hyuuga girls spar with each other. The older sister had clearly hit puberty and looked pained as the younger sister, seven or eight at most, danced around her, her arms flowing as she used a series of elegant and delicate jabs. The older sister struggled to block and parry them all and, from what Naruto knew of the Gentle Fist, would have been severely injured had the younger girl been projecting her chakra. The more that Naruto watched, the more he began to notice that the spars between the Hyuuga were well-practised. Dozens of Hyuuga swirled around each other, their movements in sync, and their robes flapped around them. In a way, it was hypnotising as the black hair of the Hyuuga danced in and out of their pristine white robes, which twirled and twirled- never stopping. It was like a dance, Naruto realised- the guard's words making more sense now- and it was almost perfect.

Almost.

The older girl in front of him, the one being outmatched by her younger counterpart, was always a step behind the rest of the group. Her movements were slower and more sluggish than everybody else. It wasn't as if she wasn't capable- Naruto could see her performing many of the movements better than her peers, just slower- it was as if she lacked the heart and spirit needed for this ritual. Nonetheless, she continued as the Hyuuga danced around each other faster and faster. Naruto watched, almost bewitched, as the alluring nature of the dance sucked him in. His heart sped up, his pulse quickening, as something funny quivered at the bottom of his stomach.

It was something primal and old wrapped in a bundle of elegance and poise- a gleaming sabre hanging on the wall that could just as easily be taken off and used for war.

It was one of the most beautiful things that Naruto had ever seen.

With a start, Naruto was jerked out of his stupor as the Hyuuga abruptly froze. Then, as one, they drew themselves up in the perfect picture of nobility and bowed to their partners. The spectators around them clapped politely as the Hyuuga began to leave and Naruto shook his head dazedly.

"That was…" he trailed off.

"That was the Third Dance of the Hyuuga," Akemi told him quietly. "It symbolises our struggle to protect our home long ago, when we fought off the servants of the Dark Ones and claimed our spot amongst the Chosen."

Naruto looked puzzled and Akemi gave a slight smile.

"We have a very rich history," she said. "Now, straighten up. Hiashi-sama is passing us by."

Naruto did as he was told and watched as the Head of the Hyuuga Clan walked past him. His face looked like it could have been carved from marble and he didn't even look at Naruto, let alone stop to talk to him, before he was gone. Behind him, the two girls that Naruto had been watching followed. The older one blushed and ducked her head as she spotted Naruto while the younger one eyed him with the frank curiosity of a child. Then, they too were gone.

"Phew," Akemi said as her shoulders slumped. She clapped Naruto on the back. "Congratulations. He must like you."

"Really?" Naruto stared at where the Hyuuga Clan Leader had disappeared. "Didn't seem like it to me."

"He let you watch the Third Dance _and_ he didn't ask you for anything," Akemi said with a small smile. The rest of the Hyuuga were beginning to disperse, all of them ignoring Naruto's presence amongst them. "You should be honoured. Only those who the Clan believes has done them a great service are invited to watch our Dances. As "The Right Hand of God", you must have impressed him."

"Captain!"

Naruto turned as Daichi came strolling up. He looked sweaty in his pure white robes and was rubbing his arm.

"Getting soft, Daichi?" Akemi teased, gesturing at his arm.

Daichi made a face. "I faced off against Neji again. It won't be long before he's better than any Hyuuga here- even Hiashi-sama."

"Don't say that!" Akemi snapped suddenly. She frowned and glanced around. "Daichi, you know what things are…"

"I know, I know." Daichi rolled his eyes. He saw Naruto watching curiously. "This is why I joined ANBU," he confided. "I get away from the politics and leave it for the others to sort out. So, why are you here, Captain?"

Naruto didn't know what he was talking about and dropped it. "I was here to find you," he answered with a sudden and obviously fake smile. "Sigma's having a little get together. Interested?"

Daichi nodded immediately. "Anything to get out of this place," he said with a dramatic sigh.

Akemi shook her head, while Naruto gave the directions. As Naruto was escorted out of the Hyuuga Compound, Daichi he saw that strange little girl from before eying him curiously. Akemi was trailing behind him and the little girl gestured at her. To his surprise, Akemi obeyed immediately. He didn't hear what the girl asked but, as the gates began to close, he heard Akemi's response.

"Who's that? Oh, that's the…"

* * *

><p>"The Right Hand of God!"<p>

Naruto watched with bemusement as a younger, blonde, almost-miniature version of Yuuka squealed with joy. He had walked into the Yamanaka Flower Shop, knowing that it was front of the Yamanaka Clan House, and had been immediately accosted by the girl. Dressed in a purple top and with her long, blonde hair done up in a ponytail, the Yamanaka was around his age and looked almost…_cute_.

"Ohmigod I can't believe you're here Sakura will never believe me you're so awesome I'm a huge fan is it true that you fought an _S-rank_ are you really the Hokage's apprentice…" The girl rattled off, seemingly without taking a breath. It looked like there were stars in her eyes as she clasped her hands together. A faint blush appeared on her cheeks and she suddenly took on a hungrier look as she eyed him. "I didn't think you'd be so_ sexy_."

Naruto, who had opened his mouth to speak, froze. He stood there, suddenly feeling incredibly awkward as the girl roved her eyes over him. "Um…" he managed weakly. "Is Yuuka here?"

"Yuuka!" the girl shouted, her eyes never leaving him.

"What?" came a shout from beyond the doorway over the counter.

"Visitor!" the young girl shouted in return. She ran a hand through her hair and smiled beautiful at Naruto.

Naruto managed a weak smile in return and dropped his gaze. He studied the shop, noting the bundles of flowers and plants on the shelves. Bright blue and pink flowers were blooming all around him and the whole shop had an earthy smell that reminded Naruto of the forests. The Yamanaka had apparently been in the flower shop and horticulture business longer than they had been a clan of shinobi, and their art and expertise went back centuries. The girl continued to smile as a series of loud crashing noises emanated from the back rooms.

"Shit!" somebody screamed.

"I'm telling Auntie Miwa!" the girl at the counter called out. She smirked.

"Yeah, yeah." Yuuka was shaking the dirt of her long blonde hair as she came into the shop front. "Don't be such a little…Captain!"

"Yuuka," Naruto began. "I was wondering…"

"It's "The Right Hand of God"!" the girl behind the counter squealed, interrupting him mid-sentence. "Isn't he awesome?"

"I know who he is, Ino," Yuuka drawled. She winked lasciviously at Naruto, who flushed and avoided her gaze. "I've met Captain Cutie before."

"Captain Cutie?" Ino's mouth dropped open. "You _bitch!_ Don't tell me…" Her words were incredulous.

"A good girl never tells," Yuuka teased. She walked around and placed an arm around Naruto, who almost jumped at the contact. "Isn't that right, _Na-ru-to_?" She teased the syllables out.

"Yuuka," Naruto said warningly, resisting the urge to shy away from her touch.

Yuuka pouted but let him go as Naruto cleared his throat, composing himself. "Team Sigma is meeting up in a bit. Did you want to come?" he asked.

"Of course!" Yuuka beamed.

"Oh, get out!" Ino practically laughed. She gave Yuuka a pleading look. "Please, can I come? I'd love to meet your team! Maybe you can give me some advice on how I can make lazy-bones and fat-arse work harder!"

Yuuka laughed. "Well, I don't see why…"

"Perhaps another time," Naruto interjected quickly. He smiled uneasily as Ino pouted. "It's a team thing, you know…"

Yuuka stared at him curiously. Naruto glanced at her and let his eyes flicker to her shoulder, where he knew her ANBU tattoo was. Something shifted behind her eyes but she kept on smiling.

"Ah well," she said to her younger relative, who pouted. "If that's what the boss says then I guess you'll have to miss out."

"Aw…"

"Don't whine, Ino," Yuuka reprimanded in a teasing tone.

Naruto gave her the address and was quick to say his goodbyes as the two Yamanaka women began to bicker and tease each other. He practically fled from the flower shop and didn't stop moving until he was at the end of Sector 5. He took in deep breaths and shook his head helplessly.

Naruto liked having a full team and he thought that they worked well together, but things had been much simpler when he was just a lowly B-ranked assistant working by himself. His thoughts derailed as he suddenly felt a familiar presence by his side.

"Captain," Kage murmured. "I'll be there."

When Naruto looked, the enigmatic ANBU was gone.

"Freaking Recon spooks," Naruto muttered sourly.

Yeah. _Much_ simpler.

* * *

><p>The six members of Sigma Squad crowded around the small table underneath the canopy of the Ramen stand and slurped on their noodles. They were all quiet, many of them suspecting something was up and those who hadn't quickly understanding the mood. As the waitress took away a stack of bowls, Naruto eyed his teammates and spoke.<p>

"So I was just promoted," he began and let his fingers fly. "And I've been given some leave."

_: Mission: Priority- Unsanctioned :_

"…and I was thinking about having a little holiday around the Land of Fire…"

_: Retrieval – ETC Two Weeks :_

"…and since we've all got leave…"

_: S-Rank – No Pay – Threat Level Minimal:_

"…I was wondering if you'd like to come with me."

_: Volunteers? :_

Komachi and Towa glanced at each other. Yuuka frowned and Daichi scratched his head. Kage just stared at him blankly. Naruto stared back, waiting with bated breath. After a few moments, the rest of the squad gave each other a look and replied almost as one.

"Sure."

"Love to."

"Sounds fun!"

"…sounds acceptable."

"Will there be booze?"

"Settle, Yuuka!"

"Make me!"

"Children…"

"Come on, Kage, she started that one…"

"Stop staring at me, dumbarse!"

"Really? You're going to start this again after you almost killed the Captain?"

"W-What…you did too!"

"Wait, who almost killed the Captain?"

"Somebody almost killed the Captain?"

For the first time that day, Naruto let a real smile cross his lips. He turned around and paid the chef. There was one more thing he had to collect before he was ready to leave.


	12. Unsanctioned Betting: Part III

**A/N:** **Here's the next chapter! I'd just like to answer one thing a few people have bought up- Naruto interacting with his age group. We've had a bit- and I'll do a little bit more, especially around the Chunin Exams, but if you're looking for a story where he pops out the front and wtf!pwns Sasuke, shows off his skills, surprises everybody, etc- look away. I imagine that that would be as boring to write as it is to read. There'll be some interaction, don't get me wrong, but there won't be any bashing.  
><strong>

* * *

><p>It was late in the afternoon that Naruto and his team departed from Konoha. Their ANBU equipment stored in the seals embedded in their ANBU tattoos, Team Sigma were dressed as ordinary shinobi for the most part. Kage and Komachi wore <em>Jonin<em> vests while Yuuka, Daichi and Towa wore _Chunin_ vests. They each had a headband strapped around their forehead. Naruto was the odd one out, as he had technically didn't own a vest despite his ranking. He wore a black shirt with the _Uzumaki_ spiral emblazed on the front and back and had a basic utility belt strapped around his waist. He had to steadily ignore Yuuka's cooing over his 'cuteness' for most of the trip as they travelled south, towards Crater City.

Twelve kilometres south-east of Konoha was the first sizable town in the area. Otafuku Gai was a small town made primarily up of massage parlours, brothels and hot springs. It was home of the largest pleasure quarter in the Land of Fire and, for many shinobi, was considered the ideal destination when their leave came up. For many of the Chunin Military Police that enforced the laws of the land in the Land of Fire, Otafuku Gai was considered to be the best posting available. South-west of Konoha, at least two hundred kilometres away, was Tanzaku Gai. Home to the historic- and largely irrelevant- Tanzaku Castle, was a large population centre of the Land of Fire and home to more than one-hundred thousand men, women and children. It was a great jewel in Konoha's economy, its trade markets importing goods from all over the world. From the finest silk, cloth and grain from Konoha's Plains to the spices from Suna's Plantations and the ore from Iwa's mines, if it existed in the Elemental Countries it could probably be found in Tanzaku Gai.

In between these two cities was Crater City. As its name suggested, Crater City had been built in a giant trench that had been carved into the ground. The trench had gone on for kilometres and, over time, had been filled in or covered up by earth or water. The depression where Crater City had been built had been separated from the main trench by large mounds of rubble and debris that some speculated had come from an exploding volcano- an explosion strong enough to have removed the mountain entirely off the map. The speculation was only fuelled by constant conspiracy theories and scientific discoveries. Crater City had become world-renowned almost twenty years ago as a group of archaeologists and their shinobi guards had discovered that the incident that had created the giant trench had not been natural- it had been the result a beam or arc of some kind of energy. As the trench itself had been dated back before the time of the Sage of the Six Paths, most academics were puzzled by what could have created it- as chakra had been introduced by the Sage roughly a thousand years ago.

These days, Crater City remained a popular destination for tourists. It held festivals all throughout the year, inviting tourists and residents to dress up in elaborate robes and clothes and partake in the festivities. The influx of new money didn't hurt its economy either and recently a series of small casinos had been built to take advantage of this fact.

After leaving Konoha, it took Naruto and his team approximately an hour and a half to arrive at Crater City. The sun was shining brightly in the sky in the late afternoon as the group of shinobi jumped out of the unnaturally large trees that made up the region and landed in a crouch on the paved road. A wagon passed them slowly as they stood up, the driver eying them with disinterest, long since used to the feats of shinobi.

"Crater City," Naruto murmured, staring down the top of the hill they were standing it. It stretched out before them, rows and rows of houses and buildings. There were no walls or checkpoints here as they were in Konoha- visitors needed to feel as if they were welcome.

Yuuka was sweating and Towa's face was a bit red but otherwise nobody complained about the breakneck pace that Naruto had worked them through. Kage came up to stand beside him, the middle-aged man's face completely blank.

"There are a lot of bystanders," he said quietly.

Naruto nodded in agreement. "Our target likes to visit the bars and casinos. She'll probably be staying in a high-class hotel." He turned to his team, his face a little grim. "Tsunade is _S-ranked_, so be careful. I'm not quite sure how good she is at tracking but she's not going to appreciate us looking for her. If you find her, get me so I can talk to her."

"Gotcha," Daichi said with a wink.

Naruto turned his eyes back to the city. "Let's go," he ordered.

Team Sigma descended from the ridge and moved into Crater City itself. Naruto wasn't sure how many other cities or towns the other members of his squad had visited but, for him, this was only the second time he had left Konoha- and the first he had entered another town. The loud shrieks, cries and squeals of excitement and happiness almost deafened him as he walked past a giant and elaborately decorated sign. It read "Welcome to Crater City- Festival Town of the Elemental Countries!". His senses were assaulted as sounds, smells and bright colours flooded into his head. He narrowly avoided being pushed over by a group of laughing teens, not much older than himself, as they pushed past him in their haste to get to wherever they were going.

Naruto decided that he preferred Konoha over Crater City. At least in the Village you could use the rooftops to avoid the crowded and often packed lanes and streets. In other villages and towns, it was considered to be rude and bad-form, and it would have attracted the attention of the Chunin Military Police and the Fire Lord's Samurai that policed this town. Technically, Team Sigma was only there for their two-week leave period. Acting as if they were on a mission would raise questions and Naruto did not want to get drawn into that mess. Lying about your mission parameters was quite a serious offence and he doubted the ANBU Commander would appreciate being asked to forward the relevant documents.

"Let's split up," Naruto called out to the Team as the happy citizens moved past them obliviously. "Use the standard signals if you find what we're looking for."

They nodded and disappeared into the throngs of the crowd, leaving Naruto alone.

He eyed the stalls along the road speculatively as he walked past them. While his teammates might have gained a few looks here and there from there flak jackets, to the world Naruto appeared to be a normal young boy enjoying the festival. He approached one of the stalls and forked out the money to buy a map of Crater City. He had barely even opened it before his tattoo burned, a series of pulses running down his arm.

Kage had found her already. That had been quick.

* * *

><p><em>S-Rank<em> shinobi were the legends of the Elemental Countries. They were the top of the top, the most elite of all shinobi. Their presence on the field of battle could alone turn the tide. Naruto was unsure of the exact requirements of how to be classed as S-rank, but each S-rank shinobi he had heard of had possessed devastating power and skill, able to take on whole armies or an entire village. They were also exceedingly rare. With current shinobi rosters of approximately ranging from anywhere from five to fifteen thousand, Konoha had three, Kumo had two, Iwa had one, Suna had one and who knew what Kiri had anymore. S-ranked Shinobi were a matter of Village pride and were held up as a measure of the Village's power. They attracted an enormous amount of public attention and interest. The publicity of a newly-ranked S-class shinobi was awe-inspiring and could undoubtedly turn the economic tide of that Village.

Konoha had three. In every generation there were those one or two that rose above the others. Hatake Sakumo had been one of them. Namikaze Minato had been one. Uchiha Itachi had been well on the way before his crimes. Now, in present times, Hatake Kakashi and Maito Gai seemed to be the next up-and-coming legends. Each were in their mid-twenties, regarded as Konoha's elite Jonin, possessed incredible skill and had plenty of time to continue to improve.

Until then, the Leaf Village made do with those already rostered on. There was the Third Hokage, the God of Shinobi and one of the longest-living S-class shinobi in the world. There was Jiraiya of the Legendary Three, the master of a Class-5 Summoning Contract, an expert with sealing techniques and a devastating force on the battlefield.

Then there was Senju Tsunade. Of all the Legendary Three, she was perhaps the most _dangerous_. During the Second Great Shinobi War, she had over five hundred confirmed kills in a six-month period. Her strength enhancement techniques made a flick from her bone-shattering. A single touch allowed her to use her immense knowledge and legendary medical skills to disrupt the physiology of the body. These same medical skills apparently made her extremely hard to kill and she could receive wounds that would have been fatal to even other S-rank Shinobi and remain alive, none worse for wear. On the battlefield, she was an unstoppable juggernaut who could take enormous amounts of punishment and return it three-fold. She had two confirmed S-class kills and had once wiped out an entire Kiri Division singlehandedly.

Naruto made sure he remembered that while he stared at the legendary Senju Tsunade. Kage had found her almost instantly because she and the casino really hadn't been trying to hide her presence. A large poster and her smirking face had been pinned up. '_Come and see one of the Legendary Three'_, it had proclaimed, and as soon as Naruto had stepped onto the casino floor he had seen her.

She was S-ranked.

She was dangerous.

She was beautiful and apparently hadn't aged a single day on her extended leave from Konoha.

Her cheeks were flushed red and she was shouting loudly as a milling crowd cheered and heckled the other players on her table. Her boisterous and somewhat obnoxious laugh filled the air as the crowd joined in.

"Found her," Kage told Naruto quietly. It was hard to tell if he was being deadpan or merely stating the obvious as he pointed at her. "There she is."

"Uh huh," Naruto answered with a weird look at the other man.

The group moved closer to the hovering crowd, gliding past and sliding through dozens of people until they reached the front. Tsunade was sitting there, laughing unceremoniously as she played a game of cards against four other people. She was a fairly tall, light-skinned woman with golden-amber eyes and straight blonde hair. Shoulder-length bangs framed both sides of her face and her hair was tied in two loose ponytails. She wore dark pants and a light grey blouse. On top of that she wore a green jacket with an intricate symbol for 'gamble' emblazed on the back. On her forehead was a tattoo of some kind, a small diamond-shaped dot that was barely noticeable. She looked nothing like her age would suggest, appearing somewhere in her thirties with a rather well exposed cleavage that drew the eyes of many in the crowd.

Compared to her, her opponents were barely noticeable. Three of them were sweating wrecks, gulping nervously as their furtive eyes danced around. They looked like they would rather be anywhere else apart from where they were. The fourth was a well-dressed man, albeit in slightly faded clothes, who carried himself extremely well. His somewhat bored look never faded as Tsunade slammed her hand down on the table, causing her nervous opponents to flinch.

"Three of a Kind- tens high!" she howled. She pumped her fist up. "The game's mine!"

The crowd went wild, howling and hooting, as the last Senju lapped it all up with a brilliant grin. The three stammering opponents almost immediately folded while the calm and composed man just gave a slight smile.

"Three of a kind," he murmured, his voice somehow cutting through the noise. He straightened and stared unflinchingly at Tsunade. "Jacks High."

Tsunade's smile faded and the crowd went eerily silent. Her opponent gathered his chips quietly as the crowd seemed hesitant, almost lost. Then, Tsunade roared with laughter and the crowd followed suit, almost with a sense of relief. Naruto watched the laughing Senju carefully as a small, short, balding man approached the table, wringing his hands nervously. He was dressed in a smart red and white vest, which bore the logo of the casino.

"I'm sorry, Senju-sama," he stuttered and the laughter faded away. "But I'm afraid that this table has a minimum betting range and…" He ended in a squeak as Tsunade's head shot his way.

"Really?" she said, her amber eyes narrowed. Her fists tightened and the crowd shied away.

"But!" the floor manager hastily interjected. "But, as a loyal customer, we're pleased to…um… offer you these chips as a reward for your patronage! Yes!"

"A loyal customer who's only been here for a week," Tsunade remarked dryly. The floor manager smiled uneasily.

"Yes! Please, take them!" he practically begged, looking like he was wishing hard for the opposite.

Tsunade smirked and took the proffered box from the trembling man's hands. She paused, the crowd went still and suddenly she was out of her seat.

"The game's back on!" she roared and the crowd roared and stamped with her. She turned back to the table, only to notice that three of her opponents had fled and the fourth was calmly stacking his chips.

"You're leaving already?" Tsunade said in disbelief. She scoffed. "At least give me a chance to win back my money."

"I think I'll take what I can get, Tsunade-sama," the man said evenly. "Besides…" his eyes flickered towards Naruto. "I think you'll have other people interested in playing against you."

Tsunade frowned. She turned to the crowd. "So, who's game to take me on?" She asked with a beautiful smile and a 'jiggle' of her exposed cleavage. Naruto stepped forward before any of the suddenly very-willing young men of the crowd could. She stared down at him, her face suddenly blank.

"Beat it, kid," she snapped. "I don't play against people of your…"

"Age?" Naruto suggested as she paused to consider her words. The crowd was silent, watching the spectacle. "Or status?"

"Both," Tsunade said after a few moments. Her golden eyes watched him almost warily as he ignored her and sat down at the table. "Playing against shinobi tends to make some enemies- not that I'm worried, but I really don't like the fuss it causes when I pound them into the ground."

Naruto's team moved to circle around the table as Kage turned to the crowds.

"This is a private game," he said politely. "Please disperse."

Their headbands and jackets must have made the point as the crowd dispersed and moved away a trickle at the time. Tsunade closed her eyes, breathing deeply as if trying to restrain her temper, while Naruto merely smiled pleasantly at her.

"Now that we're alone," he began. "Let me say that it's an honour to meet you, Tsunade-sama. Your exploits are legendary."

"Get on with it," Tsunade grunted. She idly twirled a chip in her hands, watching Naruto lazily. "I have things to do."

Naruto smiled. "Of course," he said pleasantly. "Have you heard of what's happened in Konoha recently?"

Tsunade smiled thinly. "A bit," she admitted. She examined her nails as delivered her next words. "But I don't really care what happens to that shithole anyhow."

Naruto's smile froze. "Ah," he said quietly. "Is that so?"

Tsunade watched him with visible amusement while his team formed a perimeter around the table, making sure they were left alone. It wasn't as if they were discussing vital village secrets but Naruto wanted this conversation to be private.

"If there's nothing else…" Tsunade prompted, bringing the spinning chip down with a loud clack. "I have games to play and booze to drink."

"I have an offer," Naruto said quietly. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. He passed it along the table and Tsunade picked it up. Her eyes widened and she glanced at her speculatively.

"What do you want?"

Naruto paused. "The Hokage is…not well," he admitted. "He'll get better in time, but I would prefer it if the most renowned Medic of all time was looking after him. To help things along," he added.

"I said I would never step foot in that village again," Tsunade said very quietly.

"I can't offer you anything else," Naruto said regretfully. "I've been working as the Hokage's aide for the last few years, and he's supplied all my equipment and food and housing. The payments for all the missions I did went into that account. There's nothing else."

Tsunade stared at the check for a very long time. Then, a tight smile came over her face. "You could buy a house in Sector 5 with this."

"Will you come back, Tsunade-sama?" Naruto asked. There was a pleading note in his voice as he stared intently at her. "Please. It's only for a little while. Check on his health, make sure he's fine, speed things along- and that's it."

Tsunade bit her lip. Then, she sighed. "Fine," she said irritably. "I'll go with you."

Naruto beamed at her and she stiffened. Her eyes widened and suddenly she stared at him as if she had seen a ghost. Naruto frowned.

"Tsunade-sama?" He asked worriedly.

"It's nothing," she replied faintly. "Just…" She gathered herself. "I've got appointments for the rest of the day. Meet me here tomorrow at nine and we'll leave for Konoha."

"Thank you, Tsunade-sama," Naruto said gratefully. He stood up and nodded to his team. "We'll see you tomorrow."

"Go away, already," Tsunade commented snidely. She remained at the table, her golden eyes troubled as Team Sigma exited the casino.

* * *

><p>The street was busy and the sky was beginning to darken as the sun set. Naruto listened idly to the background noise as the team lingered around him. Yuuka was practically sending longing gazes to one of the stalls down the street, and that made his decision for him.<p>

"Alright," he said quietly and they all fell silent. "We're all on leave here, so let's go have some fun. We'll meet back here tomorrow morning to escort Tsunade-sama back to Konoha. Until then, you're dismissed."

"Or we would be," Daichi remarked casually. "If we were on a mission. Which we're totally not."

"Nope!" Yuuka said with a grin.

"Our activities are indeed clandestine," Kage offered tonelessly.

Towa and Komachi exchanged looks, the former rolling his eyes and the latter nodding her head in agreement. Kage didn't seem to notice- or care- and, without another word, wandered off into the crowd. He disappeared amidst the throngs of people and was out of sight in seconds.

"That's _Recon_ for you," Towa muttered under his breath. Then he winced as Daichi none-too-subtly jabbed him in the ribs. "Hey, man, that was uncalled for."

"I'm Recon too, you _Combat_ grunt!" Daichi snapped with a huff. With his Byakugan, his over-the-top hurt expression made him look almost feminine.

"Aw!" Yuuka squealed. She hugged Daichi from behind. "There, there, little boy. Let's leave the meanie here and go and have some fun. Do you wanna go on a ride? Huh? Do you?"

"I do," Daichi responded petulantly. A childish expression crossed his face and he folded his arms. "And I want ice-cream!"

"Two-scoops," Yuuka agreed as she waved to Naruto and the others and began to walk away.

"I want three!" Daichi was relentless.

"You get two!" Yuuka scolded.

"Poopie-head!"

"Idiots," Komachi murmured fondly, shaking her head. She gave Naruto a side-along glance. "Did you want some company, Captain?"

Naruto noticed Towa twitch and the expectant tension running through his body and shook his head. "I'm sure you two can find something to do," he said. Komachi nodded and Towa grinned. "Just…just don't kill each other. Or fight. Or cause any property damage."

"Who do you think we ~ ah! Ow, ow, ow, ow!" Towa cried out as Komachi grabbed his ear.

"Come on, moron," she grumbled. "You owe me a new painting and I thought I saw a stall down here that had something I liked."

"What? That was a painting? It looked like a toddler's finger-painting!"

"It's called art, dickhead!"

Naruto watched the last of his team disappear into the crowd with a truly befuddled look on his face. Although they had been through a lot together, this was just a reminder that he really hadn't known them and their eccentricities that long. He shook his head and gazed up and down the street, suddenly feeling a little nervous.

He had never really been to a festival before, and he had _never _been by himself in his time off. In Konoha, even when he had been granted the minimum required leave, he had used to it to continue his training or catch up on chores in the Hokage's Residence. Now, with the sun setting and the candles and lights beginning to brighten the town, Naruto found that he was in a completely new situation and he had no idea what to do.

"Huh," he said out loud, to nobody in particular.

He began to walk down the streets, gliding past the milling crowds as they laughed and chatted to each other. It was almost like training, as he ducked and weaved around elbows and knees, doing his best not to get clipped. He watched the stalls, his eyes wide as he took in the new scents, sounds and sights. One of the stalls caught his attention and he looked as a man with a round stomach and chubby cheeks cried out to the crowd.

"…and now, watch this modern-day miracle!" the man boomed.

He gestured down to the table, where there were two large, thick dull-greyed metal rods. They stood apart, attached by a single loop of wire at the base while the man held two ends of some more wire in his hands. The man gestured at his assistant, who reached into his sack and pulled out a lemon. Naruto cocked his head, looking as puzzled as many others in the crowd, as the assistant put the lemon in the table.

"And we insert the wire into the lemon, and…"

The man trailed off as it stuck the two ends of the wire into the lemon. Almost instantly, arcs of lightning started to bounce off the iron rods. Naruto gaped, astonished, and reached out with his senses. There was _no chakra_ at all!

The electricity sparked and arced off the rods as the man invited a brave-looking boy to come and touch it. The boy, grinning to his friends, leaned over and slowly raised a finger. He moved it closer and closer to the sparkling rods until there was a 'snap' and a 'hiss' and the boy jerked back with a yell. He put his finger in his mouth as the crowd roared with laughter, unaware that his hair was now standing completely on end.

Naruto watched that for a little while and then moved on. There were so many different things that he had never seen before! One of the stalls had a very realistic model of a volcano spewing out reddish-yellow foam from the top. Another had set up dozens of plates on wooden rods and was spinning them- without using chakra! There was food from all over the world, from the spicy thick-breaded wraps from Suna, the delicious sorbet from Kumo, Iwa's infamous pasta recipes and Kiri's delicious sugary sweets. In one area, there were animals that Naruto had never seen before- weird looking creatures with grey skin and thick white tusks. A pair of monkeys eyed him, chittering madly, and Naruto grinned at them. He waved but they stared back at him incomprehensibly and he lowered his hand, suddenly feeling stupid.

The sky had gone dark. The moon and stars were out. Fires burned and people laughed and danced as a concert began. They started with the traditional drum beats of the Land of Wind, the beat echoing in Naruto's head and causing his heart to beat faster and faster. He continued browsing the stalls, suddenly regretting his lack of money as the rich aroma of food filled his senses. He had a little change in his a pocket but that was about it. Still he had a ration bar and it wouldn't be the first time he had went hungry on a mission. He ate his bar methodically as he walked past a dizzying fountain with multi-coloured jets of water spraying in elaborate angles and shapes until a stall caught his attention.

It was a kids one, where a group of boys and girls his age were watching one of their peers throw a weighted sack of rice at several targets. The targets were only ten or so metres away but, for some reason, the boy was having trouble knocking them down. Naruto moved closer to observe, his keen eyes analysing the targets carefully, and when the boy left, dejected, the young ANBU hovered around the front of the stall. The owner saw him and a smiled invitingly, gesturing to the sacks. Naruto reached into his pocket, feeling the last of his money, and shrugged.

He paid the man, who put down five rice sacks. Naruto picked one up, testing its weight, and considered the targets. Just to make sure his suspicions were correct, he lobbed one at the furthest target and smiled thinly as it refused to be bowled over. He had spotted the adhesive strip attached to its base- but noted that it had only been stuck down at the front.

He smiled.

With his remaining four bags, he hurled them at the targets in quick success, one right after the other. Two of them slammed into the side targets, knocking them down easily, while one went soaring high over the last target. He hurled the fourth sack of rice with greater power, and clipped the third, which ricocheted towards the back of the target, which fell onto the ground with a clatter. Naruto smiled as the owner scowled.

"Hey!" he said roughly. He pointed to a sign. "No shinobi allowed!"

"Hey," Naruto said a tad mockingly. "I'm pretty sure you're not allowed to fix the games."

The owner frowned as Naruto smiled. A few moments later, the blonde shinobi left the stall with his money back in his pocket- plus a little extra. He wandered away, feeling pleased, until he stopped as the boy who had gone before him approached with his group of friends.

"Hey, man! That was so cool!" He shouted gleefully

"Way to put him in his place," one of the girls in the group added brightly.

Naruto's eyes narrowed for a split second as he instinctively assessed them.

_Five children- ages twelve or thirteen- no audible chakra emanations- stances loose and unfocussed – no formal discipline apparent – class- civilian, E-rank : Minimal Threat_

"Thanks," he said a minute later. His voice was much more quiet and steadier than the others.

"Are you really a shinobi?" the youngest-looking member of the group asked him, his blue eyes wide with awe.

"I am," Naruto answered with a polite smile.

"Of Konoha, right?" the lead boy confirmed, his eyes narrowed. When Naruto nodded, he grinned and raked a hand through his messy black hair. "Good."

"Where's your headband?" the girl from before asked, her dark brown hair swaying over her formal robes.

"I'm on leave," Naruto answered and shrugged. "I didn't bring it with me."

That answer seemed to satisfy them.

"Hey, did you wanna hang with us?" the lead boy asked.

Naruto frowned, considering his options. After a few moments, he shrugged. Why not?

The next hour or so was an eye-opener for Naruto. The boys and girls he was accompanying were completely different from anybody he had ever spoken to before. He hovered in the background- when they would let him- and listened to them as they talked and joked with each other in between grilling him over what it was like to be a shinobi. They truly were oblivious, Naruto decided as he explained the difference between Kumo and Kiri (which confused one of the girls, since they both started with 'K'). Their eyes were bright, their bodies gangly and untrained and their innocence untouched. Konohamaru, for all his immaturity, knew more about the harshness of the shinobi world than they did. After experiencing the horrors of war during the Sky Blitz, Naruto wasn't quite sure if he pitied or envied them. He smiled politely, answered their questions softly- but vaguely- and followed them around as they wandered the stalls.

"Wow!" one of the girls said, bringing her hands together and looking amazed.

She and the rest of the kids darted into the crowd surrounding the stage as a giant burly man with rippling muscles grinned. He held up a chunk of rock and, to the amazement of most of the crowd, took a bite in it. The rock made an audible crunch and the man chewed it thoughtfully. He swallowed, rubbed his stomach and bowed as the audience gasped and clapped. Next to him, a thin, lithe woman danced on top of a roaring bonfire unharmed, while on the other side another man used some very impressive water manipulation to create a miniature roaring dragon, which arced out into the crowd and exploded in a spray of hazy droplets.

Naruto watched all of the performers, absently identifying the techniques or chakra manipulation that each of them used to demonstrate their feats- although the man eating the stone was quite impressive. His new companions, on the other hand, wanted to keep watching so he stayed there, observing his surroundings lazily.

"Hey, watch it!" somebody snapped.

"Fuck off, Rock-head!" somebody else snapped back.

Naruto turned his head and observed as a group of Konoha Chunin wearing the armbands of the local police force strode forward, bearing down on a small group. He stood on his toes and peered past the suddenly interested observers as the Leaf Nin advanced. Their targets seemed to be a small, dimple-faced boy and a thin, pasty man dressed in fine robes. Surrounding them was a standard Iwa C-ranked Squad- four young genin, none past fifteen, and two experienced Chunin.

"We have our papers right here," one of the Chunin said calmly as the young noble shrunk back from the somewhat hostile glares of the police.

The lead Konoha Chunin, a man in his late thirties with a nasty scar carved into his face, only glanced at them briefly before passing them to his subordinate.

"These look like counterfeit papers to me," he said grimly. He cracked his knuckles. "We might have to take you in for some questioning?"

"Do you really have to do this?" the Chunin asked with a sigh. "We're just a protection squad for our client. We're allowed to be here."

"You're allowed to be where _I_ say you can be!" The Leaf Nin growled.

Naruto was frowning.

"Eh, fuck off, tree-hugger!" one of the Iwa Genin suddenly burst. It was short, mean-faced girl with a crooked nose. She bared her teeth at Chunin, unafraid. "You've got nothing to keep us here!"

"What did you say, you little rock-head?" the Chunin growled. He advanced and suddenly metal flashed asweapons were drawn.

"Stand down," the Iwa Chunin barked loudly. He turned to his Leaf counterpart with an apologetic face and stepped forward. "I'm sorry for…"

He didn't get that far as two of the police members jumped on him, wrestling down and wrapping wire around his wrists amidst the cries of his team. The mean-faced girl yelled and darted forward, her kunai raised. The lead Chunin snarled, his own weapon rising as he leapt forward to meet the girl-

And suddenly Naruto was there, two kunai in his hand as he blocked both blows. Sparks flew as metal grated on metal and, with a flash of chakra-enhanced strength, the unmasked ANBU pushed both fighters away from each other and towards their respective teams. Naruto, his face grim, concentrated for a brief second. He manipulated his chakra, much like he did when he performed his collaborative techniques, and folded itself back on itself in a cyclic loop. The resulting density exploded from his _tenketsu_ and suddenly the street was covered in deep, heavy pressure that weighed down on both sides, causing them to freeze.

"Stand down!" ordered Naruto, his eyes cold and his face blank.

The Leaf Nin had frozen, unused to such potent chakra, and the lead Chunin growled.

"I'm in charge here!" he snapped, shrugging off the pressure with apparent ease- displaying a skill or ability level not usually seen in such a policing role.

Naruto rolled up his sleeve, displaying his tattoo. It flared with a bright green light as Naruto identified himself as a friendly ANBU agent. "No," he disagreed. "I am. I said_, stand down!_"

The two Leaf Nin jumped off the Iwa Chunin and backed away, while their leader looked murderous. Weapons were sheathed as the Iwa team leader got to his feet, motioning for his team to stand down as well. When both sides looked like they weren't about to kill each other, Naruto released the pressure on the street and straightened up.

"Papers," was all he said, gesturing at one of the Leaf Nin. The man silently handed him the papers and Naruto took the time to carefully identify them. It was just as the Iwa Nin had said- it was just a routine protection squad for the son and attendant of a minor noble. He folded them up and approached the Iwa Squad. "Here," he said, giving them back to the leader. "These look like they're all in order."

"Thank you," the Iwa Chunin said. He sighed, rubbing his mouth. "I'm sorry for the commotion. Akane has a temper and your comrades didn't help."

"I'm sorry for the inconvenience," Naruto apologised as well. "Enjoy your stay in the Land of Fire."

He turned and approached the Chunin Police Squad, his eyes narrowed. The leader stared back at him boldly while his subordinates squirmed on their feet.

"What do you think you were doing?" He asked quietly.

"My job!" the leader snapped. His scar stretched painfully across his face as he glowered at the Iwa Squad, who were conferring quietly with their client. "We've got to be really careful around those Iwa Nin." He rubbed his scar absently. "They're tricky bastards!"

"Take your grudge somewhere else!" Naruto snapped back, his annoyance rising. He jabbed the man in the chest and took pleasure in how he recoiled. "It's idiots like you who start the wars!"

"We thrashed them the last time," the scarred man's said. His voice rose, carrying over to the Iwa Squad. "The Yellow Flash tore those Rock-Heads apart, one by one. It's just a pity he didn't finish the job!"

Naruto closed his eyes in exasperation. When he opened them, they were hard. With a sudden flash of movement, he lashed out at his own comrade. Chakra flared and lightning sparked on his hand as Naruto jabbed the man in the throat with two fingers, sending a powerful electrical pulse through the unsuspecting Chunin. He gurgled and fell to his knees, his limbs shaking.

"Take him back to your station," he informed the other members of the squad. "He's off-duty until he's been reviewed."

"Yes, ANBU-sama!" the Chunin barked.

They grabbed their leader and dragged him away, leaving Naruto alone. He rubbed his face tiredly, his ears prickingly as he heard the Iwa Squad begin to move away. As they passed him, the Chunin Leader moved in.

"Pardon me, but is your name Uzumaki Naruto?" the leader asked politely.

Naruto eyed him blankly. "Yes," he replied shortly.

"I see," the leader murmured, looking thoughtful. "Again, you have my thanks."

He walked off as their genin whispered to each other, shooting glances at Naruto. He was pretty sure he heard 'The Right Hand of God' somewhere in their talks and, for the first time, was suddenly annoyed by the moniker. His mood disgruntled, he waved an absent goodbye to the group of gawking kids he had been hanging around with and disappeared in a blur of movement.

The festival no longer seemed as appealing as it had before. Naruto wandered back to the hotel and paused as he felt Kage appear by his side. The blank-faced man nodded respectfully at him and lowered his head.

"I followed Tsunade-sama's assistant," he informed Naruto quietly. "She was making preparations to leave early- tonight. I don't think she's coming back to Konoha with us."

Naruto exhaled noisily. Shaking his head, he concentrated chakra into his ANBU tattoo and sent a series of pulses through it. Then, he waited as the various members of Team Sigma began to arrive at his side.

"Put on your uniforms," Naruto ordered once they had all arrived.

"What's wrong, boss?" asked Daichi, his smile fading.

Naruto smiled thinly. "We're going to have a _talk_ with Tsunade-sama."


	13. Unsanctioned Betting: Part IV

**A/N: Thanks for all the reviews, guys. I do write a lot of this for myself, because I want to see something done, but I definitely do write it for others and it's good to know that they're enjoying it. A few of you corrected some spelling/grammar of the last chapter. I'll go back and fix then when this is uploaded. Enjoy.**

**Oh, also- if you think you've got a good name for this Arc- which ends with this chapter- let me know. I can't bloody decide. Cheers.  
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* * *

><p>It was with a face of grim determination, tightened fists and five black-cloaked and white-masked ANBU operatives trailing after him that Naruto stalked through the streets of Crater City. The citizens gave a wide berth from the intimidating sight as the young, blonde ANBU practically stormed up to the casino where Tsunade was staying at. There were some well-dressed guards at the door but a single warning look from Naruto made them stay their ground as he stalked past them, opening the doors and stepping onto the casino floor.<p>

The arrival of an ANBU Squad was met with a few shrieks and, from the corner of his eye, Naruto saw a few shinobi guards of some of the other VIP guests tense. Two in particular frowned, their _Kumo_ headbands glinting, and they moved closer to the old, portly man they were guarding. Naruto dismissed them almost immediately as he pushed past frightened patrons and gaping waitresses to the back tables, where he could already hear Tsunade-sama's obnoxious laugh.

"Sir, please, you can't- Sir….Sir?" The short, balding floor manager was sweating as he unsuccessfully tried to block Naruto's path to Tsunade.

There was a rustle of fabric and a flash of black and suddenly Kage was there, a firm hand on the manager's shoulder, halting the small man in his path and allowing Naruto to pass. The closer he got to the table and the stench of sweat, smoke and booze, the angrier he became. When he finally pushed past the startled crowd of admirers and made it to the edge of the table, his face was like a thundercloud and he stared down at Tsunade grimly. The other players at the table fell silent as Naruto appeared- and the whole crowd became deathly still as the ANBU flanked him.

Tsunade eyed him and took another drink from her mug. She wiped her lips with the back of her hand and stared up at him with lazy golden eyes, looking completely unconcerned. "What do you want, brat?" she asked him lazily.

"Tsunade-sama," Naruto greeted stiffly. "As per our agreement, you're going to come with us. We'll escort you in your journey."

"I told you we were going tomorrow," Tsunade remarked casually, throwing her cards onto the table with a somewhat challenging look on her face. "I'm busy now. Go away and we can talk tomorrow."

"Really?" Naruto's voice was deceptively light. "So my subordinate was wrong when he saw your assistant packing your bags with plans to leave tonight?"

Tsunade stiffened. She eyed him blankly. "Yes," she said quietly. "He was. Now, I want you- "

She was cut off as Naruto lunged. Chakra swirled in his palm, spiralling, coalescing and forming into a small deadly orb that hissed. Then, the patrons shrieked and screamed and the other players swore as the unmasked ANBU bought his half-formed _Ransengan _down onto the table. It tore through the wood with ease, shattering it in an instant, and glass, chips and broken wood fell to the ground with a loud crash. Naruto was breathing harshly as he straightened up, glaring down at the Legendary Tsunade. He hadn't seen her move- she didn't look like she had even flinched- but her drink that had been on the table was in one hand and her roll of chips was in the other. She stared at him dangerously as Naruto nodded to his ANBU.

"This is official Leaf business! Everybody out!" Towa yelled.

He and the rest of Team Sigma shepherded the crowd of bystanders, patrons and workers out of the building. The two _Kumo_ shinobi bodyguards looked extremely interested in what was going on but it was only until Komachi and Kage confronted them that they moved. In a few moments, the Casino floor was deserted as Team Sigma took posts outside, keeping the crowd from returning. It was only Naruto and Tsunade now, the former breathing deeply as he regained his composure and the latter swirling a drink in her hand, looking completely unconcerned about the events that had just happened.

"Where's my money?" Naruto asked after a few moments. His voice was much calmer now.

"Cashed it in and spent it," Tsunade answered honestly. She frowned. "That arsehole Marco has got the luckiest streak I've ever seen."

"You've lost it already?" Naruto's mouth dropped open incredulously. He shook his head, a pained expression on his face. "No, that's not the point." He fixed her with an intense look. "Were you ever planning on coming with us?"

"No." Tsunade's answer was short, clipped and to the point. She finished off her drink and wiped the back of her mouth, carelessly throwing the glass over her shoulder. It shattered on the wall as she leant forward, eying Naruto dangerously. "I swore I would never return to that shithole for the rest of my life." She gave a bark of laughter. "You think a measly pile of money is going to make me change my mind?"

"Hokage-sama was your teacher," Naruto said desperately. "He was your mentor. Doesn't that count for something?"

"Yes, it does," Tsunade replied softly. "But even you said that he was being looked after. If he was dying, then I would definitely go- but he's not." She fixed him with a look that wasn't too uncompassionate. "He's a stubborn old man. He'll be fine, with or without me."

She began to get up and Naruto clenched his fists. The next words that came out of his mouth were said from between clenched teeth, hissed out with great feeling.

"_You selfish bitch!_"

Tsunade halted and, for the first time, Naruto felt her presence. She turned her head slightly so that one frosty golden eye could glare at him and an unbelievable pressure fell down upon him. His lips parted in surprise as Tsunade went from not even being a blip of his senses to completely overwhelming him entirely. His limbs shook, his mind threatened to dissolve into the primal urge to flee and his mouth was dry. Two weeks ago, the sheer intent that Tsunade was generating would have frozen him in his tracks. Now, after the Sky Blitz and after experiencing the ravages of war- even as short as it had been- Naruto was far more capable of resisting such things and he fought back against the paralysing fear with his own anger and rage.

"What did you just call me?" Unlike her intent, Tsunade's voice was calm and emotionless.

The emotions inside him had been bottled up and it all escaped him. "I called you a selfish bitch!" Naruto roared furiously, his voice echoing loudly in the casino floor.

With a roar of her own, Tsunade brought her hand down on the nearest wall and suddenly the world exploded. Bricks and mortar rippled outwards from where the _S-ranked_ Shinobi had struck. The floor rumbled and shuddered and shelves of glasses and bottle exploded in dangerous hails of glittery shards. Chips clattered and fell, lights flickered on and off and dust flittered down from the ceiling. With a sudden and abrupt crack the entire wall where Tsunade had been standing erupted in a geyser of brick, stone and dust- an enormous boom temporarily deafening Naruto as the shockwave of that one, single blow sent him skidding backwards on his feet. He instinctively raised his arms, covering his face, as he was pushed backwards and only lowered them when the dust had settled and the shuddering had stopped.

Tsunade was standing there, breathing deeply with a furious expression on her face. "Don't you dare call me that!" she roared angrily.

"You are, though!" Naruto snapped back. She raised another fists but he continued on, his voice lowering. "I know all about Senju Nawaki and Kato Dan!"

This stopped her short. Something flickered in her eyes and for a split-second Naruto abruptly forgot how to breathe. If her intent had been dangerous before, now it was deadly and it took a few moments for the blond to gain control of his mouth.

"Don't talk about them," Tsunade said very quietly and very calmly. "That's my only warning."

"I know that you loved them both," Naruto continued on bravely. He didn't flinch when a chair rocketed past his head with incredible force, shattering into tiny pieces on the wall behind him. "I know that they both died."

Tsunade stepped towards him, her fists clenching, as the Nine-Tailed Demon Host continued talking- although much quicker than he had before.

"You know what it's like to lose people who you love!" Naruto said fiercely as Tsunade stepped over the rubble of the card table she had been playing out. Her hand came up and gripped him by the scruff of the neck, easily lifting off his feet and dangling him in the air. "You know that pain of being alone, of being unloved, of having-"

He was cut off as Tsunade clamped down on his throat with her other hand. His hands desperately came up to grab at his throat, trying in vain to pry her strong, vice-like fingers off of him. His words continued to come, gurgled and managed as they were.

"Th-That's…why…gah…you…selfish…bitch!" he gasped out.

Her fingers tightened and Naruto felt his head light, his eyes feeling as if they wanted to roll into the back of his skull and his lungs beginning to burn. He concentrated as best he could, moulding his chakra within his body, layering and folding it over each. Intense pressure burst from all of his _tenketsu_ and Tsunade's grip slackened just a tad. Naruto took in a deep breath and lunged at her, grabbing her green jacket and pulling his face down to hers until their noses were almost touching.

"Don't you _dare_ take him away from me!" He snarled, writhing and squirming in her grasp. "Hokage-sama is everything to me. He took me from that lonely hell and gave me a purpose and a family. Don't you dare sit there acting like an arrogant bitch and refusing to help the one person I care about! Otherwise, you're just as bad as the people who killed Nawaki and Dan!"

He was abruptly let go and he fell to the ground, breathing harshly. He looked up, seeing Tsunade take an staggered step backwards, looking down at him as if he was a _Tailed Demon_ incarnate. As he climbed to his feet, he discretely reached into his utility pouch and popped something in his mouth. Then, on his feet, he turned and faced down the _S-rank_ woman.

"I'm not asking you to stay and I don't care if you like it or not," he said hoarsely. His throat felt bruised and he touched it gingerly. "Just come and look at him. You're the best Medic in the world- you'll have him fixed up in no time."

"And if I say no?" Tsunade's voice was quiet, but challenging.

"Then…then I'll leave," Naruto said, his voice just as quiet. He shrugged helplessly. "I can't make you. I'm no match for the strongest woman in the world. But," he fixed her with a dark look. "_I'll_ _never forgive you_."

Tsunade stared at him, breathing harshly, and Naruto stared right back. Then, the blonde pony-tailed woman slowly shook her head. Naruto felt his heart sink.

"Fine," he sighed tiredly. "But I want my money back."

"I told you- I spent it," Tsunade frowned.

"Then I'll just have to take something else instead." Naruto reached into his pouch and pulled out a gleaming kunai. Tsunade eyed the weapon contemptuously and watched as Naruto approached her.

"Don't…" she began to say warningly.

With a flicker of movement, Naruto lunged at her with the blade. Tsunade moved just as fast as he did and grabbed his arm, halting his attack. The blond ANBU didn't even squirm in her grip as he bared his teeth at her viciously. She glared down at him and then her eyes widened. Naruto's gums were bleeding and, before her very eyes, his veins bulged underneath his skin as bruises began to form. With a deep breath, Naruto spat a mouthful of blood at her and she flinched, recoiling. Then, his hand, the one that Tsunade held, relaxed and the kunai fell from his grip. His other hand came up, grabbing it and he lashed out with it- _on his own arm!_

Blood splattered everywhere, drenching his shirt and pants and running down his arm in never-ending rivers. It splashed on Tsunade too, drenching the front of her jacket and blouse. Her golden-amber eyes widened and she stared down at Naruto, horrified. As he smiled triumphantly at her, Tsunade's eyes widened even further and she looked at him as if she was seeing a ghost. Her firm grip slackened as she began shaking.

"On the bottom of your file there was a note," he told her quietly as he pulled his arm away from her. "It only had a single line written on it- handwritten, too. _Senju Tsunade has a fear of blood_." He leaned closer, his face practically touching her as she stood there, frozen. "Do you know what happens when you take several blood pills at the same time?"

The crimson rivers running down his arm were beginning to cease but the bruises kept on forming as the overproduced blood burst veins in his bodies. He gritted his teeth, knowing that while this wasn't exactly fatal for somebody like him it sure as hell wasn't good for him either. Naruto reached up with bloodied hands and for a moment he looked like he was going to stroke her cheek. Then, he reached past her head and carefully unclipped the necklace she was wearing.

"I'll use this as compensation for my money," Naruto said quietly. "If you want it back, you know where I'll be."

He turned and staggered towards the casino door, leaving the shell-shocked woman behind.

He would have to move fast- she would not be idle for long.

* * *

><p>Naruto limped out of the casino doors and walked into a scene of organised chaos. Hundreds of people, the men and women who had been visiting the casino and those who had merely been walking by, were huddled around the edge of the street. Four black-cloaked and masked ANBU surrounded the stairs that led up to the casino doors. Naruto briefly glimpsed the fifth, Kage, speaking quietly to a trio of Leaf Nin, more of the shinobi assigned to Crater City's Police Department. He was vaguely aware of some shrieks and screams as he made his appearance but he ignored them, limping down the stairs and leaving a trail of smeared blood behind him. He could already feel the wounds clotting- an advantage with his monstrous endurance and natural longevity- but blood still trickled down his arms.<p>

"Captain," Kage greeted emotionlessly. Naruto had to give the Jonin that, nothing ever seemed to faze him. "I was just telling the Commander that this area is restricted until the ANBU have finished conducting their operation."

"And I was just telling him that you can't come in here and close down a major business without proper mission papers!" the grizzled shinobi, a Jonin if Naruto had to guess, snapped. He folded his arms. He also looked unconcerned with Naruto's appearance. "If you have business with Tsunade-sama then you can take it elsewhere."

"It's alright," Naruto conceded quietly. "Our business is finished. You're probably going to want to find Tsunade-sama's assistant before you open the casino, though."

"Great," the Jonin said, his voice caught halfway between a groan and a snarl. "I have a pissed off S-rank in my city. That's just what I need. Was there anything else, _sir?_"

Naruto ignored the sarcasm. "No," he replied. He shifted on his feet, grimacing as his bruises began to ache. "We're leaving now."

"I suppose we'll clean up your mess then," the Jonin grumbled. He eyed the crowds around them. "Fuck. This is going to be fun to explain the Daimyo's representative. I hope you're happy. Fucking showboats."

The Jonin had a decidedly sour opinion of the ANBU, Naruto reasoned, watching as he walked away, barking orders to his forces. A woman dressed in a _Chunin_ vest and wearing an armband with 'police' written on it began shouting out to the crowd, calling for their silence. Kage offered Naruto his arm and the young blonde took in gratefully. He sent a pulse of chakra through his tattoo and the rest of Team Sigma flickered, covering the distance between them in an instant and appearing at Naruto's side.

"She's not coming willingly," Naruto informed them quietly. "However," he grimaced, "I may have provoked her into following me. We're going to have to leave right away."

"You provoked Tsunade-sama?" Yuuka asked. There was a tone of horrified fascination in her voice. "How did you do that?"

Naruto considered his answer as Kage began to wrap bandages around his visible wounds. "I called her a selfish bitch and stole her jewellery," he eventually replied.

Although he couldn't see it, he could imagine the collective wince that went through each of the ANBU's faces underneath their masks. Towa cradled his head in one hand while Daichi clapped Naruto on the back.

"You've got balls, mate," he said cheerfully. He paused. "Mind you, Tsunade-sama is probably going to rip 'em off for you, but still."

"How long will she be incapacitated for?" Komachi asked quietly.

"Not long," Naruto admitted. "And I don't want to be here when she comes back to her senses."

He flexed his muscles, already feeling some life coming back to them. He idly noticed that the bleeding had stopped and his arms were fully bandaged. Kage put his med-kit away and Naruto nodded in his thanks. He leaned away from the quiet Jonin and rocked unsteadily on his feet for a moment, before he regained his balance. Naruto exhaled loudly and made a hand-sign.

"Scatter!" he commanded and they all disappeared in a flash of movement.

* * *

><p>The journey back to Konoha was done at breathtaking speed. Team Sigma didn't pause for an instant as they hurled themselves across the gigantic trees, leaping from one branch to the next as they attempted to arrive at Konoha before there was an 'incident'. Naruto had initially lagged behind but his strength was rapidly returning to him and after fifteen or so minutes he had regained full use of his arms and legs. There were no chatter, just the sound of the nightlight chirping and shrieking at each other and the feeling of wind ruffling his hair. Naruto had donned his uniform, his mask allowing him to see a little better in the dark and his cloak reducing the prickles of pain the rushing wind was causing to his wounds.<p>

At top speed, they were approximately an hour away from Konoha. Thirty minutes into their journey, Kage blurred in front of them and made a signal. The team silently leapt onto the next branch and paused. Naruto was breathing deeply, sweat beading his forehead, and he stood up. Kage was staring past them, his mask gleaming in the moonlight. His hands flashed.

_: Contact : 15 klicks : one shinobi incoming : pursuit vector :_

_: Outrun? : _

_: Negative :_

_: Hostile? : _

"It's her." Naruto's voice broke the silence. He clenched his fists, the pit of his stomach twisting. He could image the look on her face as she chased after them. "I thought she would take longer."

"Orders, Captain?" Komachi asked quietly.

Naruto took a deep breath. "Go back to Konoha. There's no reason why you should get beaten up because of something I did. Remember, this wasn't an official mission and she _is_ an ally." He turned to where Tsunade was approaching from, his determination rising. "I'll speak to her. Maybe I can reason with her."

Maybe she wouldn't squash him flat the first instance she saw him. Naruto could only hope. The squad considered his words, their faces and emotions hidden to their leader.

"I'm not leaving," Towa remarked casually. He was bouncing up and down on his knees, clearly preparing himself for an upcoming fight. "Sorry, boss. Not my style."

"I've always wanted to see Tsunade-sama in battle," Komachi added. He could hear the expectant grin on her face. "I never really thought I'd be the one on the other side of her fists, but at least Towa's gonna get smacked down too."

"Bitch." Towa's reply was instant.

Daichi sighed. "Ah well," he remarked easily. "We live together, we die together- right?"

"She's not going to kill us," Yuuka rebuked. She considered her words. "Well. How much did you piss her off again, Captain?"

"Enough," Naruto answered grimly.

"Awesome," Yuuka deadpanned. She reached over and thumped him lightly on the shoulder. "Seriously. Did you think we'd leave you here alone? Captain Cutie needs to know his squad a little better."

While the rest of the team were murmuring to each other, Kage was busy unsheathing a dull-black blade. Naruto stared at it, noting its straight edge and curved tip. As if he had felt Naruto's gaze, Kage looked up at him, two glowing white lights gleaming brightly from underneath the darkness-shrouded hood.

"I will take point," he said quietly. "If she proves to be hostile, we will restrain and subdue her until proper reinforcements arrive."

There was something stirring in his heart and the young, blonde ANBU felt his eyes slightly burning. He blushed underneath his mask, embarrassed, and looked away as the men and women around him prepared to face an S-rank Shinobi, who was more than likely hell bent on pounding him into the ground, on his behalf. He grinned, feeling a strong affection for each of the other ANBU members.

"Here she comes," Kage suddenly murmured. His hands flashed. _: one klick :_

Team Sigma instantly stilled. Fingers blurred and danced in the moonlight and then the ANBU squad broke apart_. _Daichi moved into formation around Kage as the two were designated the close-combat fighters. Komachi and Towa took the tree, slinking in the shadows to provide short-mid range combat support while Naruto and Yuuka darted even higher up- long ranged _genjutsu_ and _ninjutsu_ support. There was an unspoken agreement to keep Naruto as far away from Tsunade as possible. As soon as the ANBU team was in position, a streak of yellow and black blurred into the clearing beneath them as Naruto's shadow clone waited for Tsunade to arrive.

Perhaps there was still time to talk.

The moon was blocked out and Naruto looked up. His eyes widened and he gaped as a tree branch as thick as he was tall and five times his length shot towards the ground. It slammed into the forest floor and the ground rumbled and cracked. The trees shuddered and the leaves rustled madly from the shockwave as Naruto's shadow clone was instantly destroyed. A terrible pressure came down on the clearing as Senju Tsunade dropped into it, landing on one knee and slowing rising to her feet. Her golden eyes were wild and her face was twisted into a furious scowl. She did not look like she was in the mood for talking.

Kage had apparently come to that conclusion because the air around the _Sannin_ swirled and morphed and suddenly dozens of loud, crying crows had surrounded her. At the same time, Kage darted forward, his dull black blade and ANBU cloak fading into the like with the dark, gleaming feathers of the crows. It was an excellent technique, performed extremely well, and the Jonin had barely made a noise. In a single second, Tsunade had countered it. Her right hand swiped through the air and rippling wave of force shot through the clearing. Branches rocked and leaves rustled loudly as the blonde-haired woman dispelled the crows in an instant. Her left hand lashed out and she gripped Kage's blade, halting his progress with ease. Then, her right hand came down and jabbed him in the stomach. Kage froze and promptly exploded in a cloud of smoke.

Tsunade straightened. Her face was a mask of controlled fury as she casually sidestepped, avoiding a searing bolt of scarlet power. Towa had activated his seal, creating a make-shift crossbow, and he fired down at her repeatedly. Tsunade avoided five shots in the span of two seconds, then raised her hand and backhanded the next bolt away. It sizzled through the air and Komachi blurred away, driven away from her attack. Tsunade raised a leg and stamped it- the ground exploded in waves of cascading dirt and Naruto stumbled on the branch he was standing on, his hand-signs failing. A moment later, a clump of dirt came rocketing at Towa and crashed into him.

_Wind Style: Wind Bullet!_

Naruto took a deep breath, concentrating the elemental chakra around the _tenketsu_ near his throat, and he spat out a salvo of small, whirring spheres of compressed air. They raced through the air, impacting all around the woman in the green jacket. The ground exploded with geysers of dirt and shrubs shooting up into the air, but it somehow missed her completely. At the same time, Daichi and Kage had regrouped and Komachi was hurling a barrage of glinting senbon at the _Sannin's_ vital points. Tsunade merely looked frustrated and she brandished her arms through the air. There was a sudden silence and then the wind howled as the very force of her movements creating a swirling maelstrom around her. The senbon scattered and then Tsunade was in Daichi's face.

To his credit, the Hyuuga immediately jabbed at her, lunging for her _tenketsu_, but he missed as she somehow pushed past his defences and ran a single finger across his chest. Daichi jerked, freezing in the spot, and crumpled to the ground. Kage was there a second later, swiping at her with his blade, and for a few moments the two engaged in close-combat. Kage was skilled, almost incredibly so. His movements were simple, designed to inflict maximum damage with single debilitating blows. His blade swished through the air, clanging and denting as Tsunade blocked him again and again with a single finger. After a few moments, she managed to grab his blade and Kage jerked. Tsunade's smirk was dangerous as she bought her finger down on the blade and it shattered. In a quick follow up movement, Tsunade did the same to him as she had to Daichi, causing him to fall silently to the ground.

She disappeared in a flicker of movement, leaving no openings for Naruto's _ninjutsu _and seemingly unconcerned with Yuuka's sense-altering illusions. There was a loud crash and suddenly Komachi came flying through the trees. The Jonin tried to stagger back to her feet but Tsunade was there. Her blonde ponytails swayed in the wind as she raised her hand and Komachi was on the end of one of the _Sannin's_ flicks. What was usually a minor annoyance came out with tremendous force, slamming her into the ground. Tsunade stood, her hand twisted in a sign, and Yuuka abruptly shrieked as herillusions were turned back onto her. His heart beating madly, Naruto reached out to her to break her out of them- but then disappeared in a quick _Body Flicker_ as Tsunade suddenly appeared in front of him.

Naruto reappeared on the clearing floor, amidst the pockmarked ground and shattered branches and trees. He was glaring behind his mask as he formed a sign and three shadow clones appeared around him. They each formed different signs as a heavy pressure settled around him, while Tsunade appeared at the other edge of the clearing.

_Earth Release: Earth Flow River!_

_Fire Release: Blazing River!_

_Fire Release: Great Wave of Flame!_

Two of the clones combined their elemental techniques and ground turned into a raging river of mud. Streaks of red and orange shot through it as it boiled and it surged towards Tsunade, a river of molten earth and tar threatening to engulf her. The third clone formed a _tiger_ seal, reared his head back and spat out a searing wave of brilliant yellow fire which rocketed on top of the glowing river. Nearby trees and plants caught fire and smoke billowed out into the air .

Tsunade cocked back a fist and _punched_- there was a resounding shockwave that threatened to lift Naruto off of his feet. The wave of fire exploded and dispersed and the flowing river of tar exploded in a geyser of orange and yellow heated earth. A second later, Tsunade was in his face- the real Naruto lunged forward, his hand holding a swirling orb of glowing chakra while the clones surrounded her, wire glinting in the light of the flickering flames. Tsunade's eyes widened as she was caught, if only briefly, and she hastily tore herself free as Naruto lunged at her, hand outstretched.

And then it was over. One moment, Tsunade was in front of him and the next there was an incredible pain in his head. He saw more than heard three puffs of white smoke as he struggled to stand, his head ringing madly as Tsunade stalked over to him. She raised her hand and Naruto ducked as she swiped her nails at him- the force of the blow severed a tree behind into jagged bits and it groaned and croaked as it began to fell. He sidestepped, clumsily avoiding a follow up attack with her other hand, and instinctively blocked as she lashed out with her knee. His arms caught the attack before it hit his stomach and his bones protested- but did not break- as the force of the blow literally sent him flying up into the air. A moment later, something gripped his leg and he was assault by a quick flash of vertigo as Tsunade heaved him upside down and slammed him into the ground. He grunted, pain flaring in his body, while his mask was dislodged and fell off of his face.

All he could do was raise his arms and feebly try to defend his face as Tsunade drew her arm back and made a fist. He heard her arm whish through the air and his face screwed up in a pained grimace as he awaited the hit. His heart beating madly, his blood surging and his body aching, it took him a few moments to realise she hadn't actually hit him and he focussed his eyes.

Tsunade crouched on top of him, her golden eyes distant and her fist less than a centimetre away from his crossed arms. Naruto was breathing harshly and grunted when the female member of the _Legendary Three_ sighed and sat on his stomach. The ground rumbled and shuddered and a terrible crash filled the air as the tree finally collapsed onto the ground. It signalled the end of the fight as Tsunade stared down at him with something strange on her face.

"You're…" she began, only to pause. Her voice sounded strangely melancholic. "You look a lot like him, you know."

Naruto didn't know what to say. Sighing, Tsunade shook her head and folded her arms. With her weight on his stomach, it was a little hard to breathe but she didn't seem to care.

"Do you have any idea the trouble you've caused me brat?" she scolded angrily.

Naruto managed to glance around the battlefield. The fires were beginning to recede as the chakra that had initially fuelled them began to wear out but large patches of the greenery had been turned black and smoke poured into the sky. The ground had been torn apart, branches ripped off and a tree knocked over.

"I can see," he replied blankly, coughing.

She bent down until her face was right in front of his, unintentionally pushing more pressure on his stomach. "Where's my necklace?" she asked with a dangerous whisper..

"Around…" Naruto wheezed. "Around…my…neck.

Tsunade jerked back as it he had struck her. "You idiot!" she hissed. She fingers scrabbled around his neck, trying to find the necklace. "Take it off! Take it off before it kills you!"

"W-What?" Naruto managed.

Tsunade froze. "That necklace," she began, "has killed everybody it's touched. My brother wore if for a day before he was killed. My boyfriend wore it for a week before he was killed. It's cursed! If you wear it, it's going to kill you!"

Naruto managed a gurgling laugh. "Bullshit!" he scoffed, ignoring her look. "That's the First Hokage's Necklace."

"And he died too!" Tsunade's voice rose, shaking with emotion. She seemed genuinely scared for him. "He died wearing it, just like everybody else."

"Or…" Naruto coughed. "Or it protected him long enough to fulfil his dreams." Tsunade jerked back as Naruto smiled. "The First Hokage created the Village. He stood up to Uchiha Madara and died fighting in the First Great Shinobi War. Maybe the necklace protected him just long enough so that his dreams would be protected."

Tsunade was shaking. "Give me the necklace!" she growled.

"No!" Naruto was defiant.

She gripped his collar, squeezing down on it. "I said, give it to me!" she roared into his face.

Naruto took a deep breath, an unfamiliar fire burning his belly. "No!" he roared right back.

The two glared at each other furiously, both gasping with emotion. Tsunade managed a grim smile, her fists clenched as her eye twitched. Naruto bared his teeth at her, his eyes burning fiercely. It was a battle of wills and, in the end, Tsunade broke it off. She dropped his gaze and buried her head in her hands. Her shoulders shook and Naruto wondered if she was crying. Then, she threw back her head and _laughed_. She kept laughing as she climbed off Naruto and the echoes held it there in the clearing long after she had gone.

What the hell had just happened?

* * *

><p>The next day, Team Sigma returned to Konoha- tired, sooty and sombre. They had spent the night dealing with the aftermath of the battle against Tsunade, waiting for Daichi and Kage to regain movement in their bodies. Naruto had managed to clear most of the debris that had resulted from the battle and had practically collapsed after that. Yuuka snapped out of her reversed-illusions quite easily and spent the rest of the time patching up the rest of the squad before they decided to make camp for the night.<p>

Perhaps the only stroke of luck out of the whole affair was that no nearby patrols had been alerted to the battle and Naruto didn't have to answer in awkward questions.

The necklace around his neck seemed to burn and weighed him down at times. He had spent the entire night fiddling with it during first watch, watching it flicker in the light of the campfire and strangely comforted by the faint green flow that emanated from it. He was still fiddling with it when he and the rest of his team- their ANBU uniforms re-sealed into their tattoos- approached the Great Gates of Konoha. He was barely aware when the team halted.

"Oh, shit!" Daichi murmured beside him.

He nudged Naruto in the ribs and the blond scowled, looking up from his examination of the necklace. He froze and his mouth practically dropped open as Senju Tsunade smiled grimly at him, while the shinobi on duty alternated between gaping at her and speaking to a short brown-haired woman that accompanied her.

"Busted!" hissed Yuuka, her face rather pale.

For all their training, Towa and Komachi were squirming uncomfortable under the gaze of the _Sannin_, while Kage had narrowed his eyes somewhat and regarded her with a somewhat dangerous look. Naruto took a deep breath and waved his team off as he joined the _Sannin_ at the gates, which began to creak open. Her assistant was openly scowling at him but he ignored her, focussing his gaze on the Senju Princess.

"I'm not dead yet," he remarked quietly.

"Give it time," she replied back snippily.

The gates opened and for the first time Senju Tsunade saw her Village devastated by war. Her lips parted in her surprise and her golden eyes widened as she took in the mounds of debris, destroyed homes and ruined buildings. Then, her mouth closed and a look of determination settled on her face. It was with a purposeful step that Tsunade stepped into Konoha, leaving Naruto behind. He stared after her, a faint smile curving his lips.


	14. The Blood Cult: Part I

**The Blood Cult: Part I**

Senju Tsunade had only been there for two days and already things were beginning to look up. The Third Hokage was up on his feet, most of the debris had finally been cleared and the Village lockdown had been lightened. The _Sannin_ stayed for a few more days- and then a week- and then it didn't seem like she was going to leave at all. After the "Crater City Incident", Tsunade hadn't said more than two words to Naruto. She, like many others, had been working. While she had been there she had attended to the Hokage, restructured hospital wards and theatres (because when a grumpy S-rank Shinobi tells you to do something, you usually do it) and provided expert care for the remainder of shinobi still in critical condition.

With her arrival, the final death toll was known. Six hundred and eighty three were dead. A third of Konoha had been destroyed in the Blitz. Although that number only accounted for roughly five or six percent of Konoha's armed forces, when combined with the number of those injured and unable to complete missions it effectively meant that Konoha had lost ten percent of its strength almost overnight. It was a tremendous blow, one that had severe implications on their short-term recovery and their long term status as the most powerful Hidden Village in the world.

The Hokage had barely been up for a day before he disappeared behind locked doors, attending meetings and consultations with wide group of men and women. Representatives from the Village Hidden by a Waterfall and the Village Hidden in Grass met with the Hokage, no doubt talking about securing their side of the border against any possible movement from the Land of Earth. The Daimyo of River County had visited the Hokage as they negotiated over lifting tariffs for incoming support from the Land of Wind. Iwa, Kumo and Suna had all expressed their regrets over the terrible incident that had occurred and promised their support, but only Suna could really be counted on as one of Konoha's long-term allies. Relations with Iwa were professional but little else and it was an open secret that Kumo wanted to replace Konoha as the most powerful Village in the World and would probably offer nothing but platitudes.

The Hokage was extremely busy. Uzumaki Naruto, codenamed Ferret, assigned to Sigma Squad as the Hokage's personal aide, was probably the only other shinobi in the Village who worked as hard as their leader did during the month after the Blitz. The Hokage had said nothing to Naruto about Tsunade's timely arrival but Naruto _knew_ that the old man _knew_, and the old man _knew _that Naruto_ knew_ that he _knew_- and there was probably some more 'underneath the underneath' stuff in all of that. Naruto had resolved not to say a word unless the Hokage bought it up first and so far the Third had been far too busy to do anything of the sort.

At the moment, he stood behind Sarutobi as the Hokage puffed on his pipe, occasionally letting out a noise that was probably interpreted as a sympathetic murmur but, as Naruto knew from experience, was more of a grunt of annoyance. Light spilled in from the windows as the Team One from ANBU's Alpha Squad hid in the shadows, extra protection against all the foreign dignitaries and visitors entering the Village. This time, it was a tall, thin man with extremely pale skin and pinkish-red eyes. White hair spilled from his cap and his tea-cup rattled in his hands as he pushed his case to the Hokage.

"I understand, Ambassador Basho," the Hokage murmured as the man paused to take a breath. He held up a hand, preventing the man from the Land of Hot Water from speaking. "But, given our circumstances, we cannot afford to send an entire division to guard a border that has been peaceful for the last seventeen years."

"You know what Kumo is like!" Ambassador Basho protested. He was sweating, Naruto realised. "They will have undoubtedly sensed your weakness and we both know that they don't like having the Land of Hot Water acting as a buffer between the Lands of Fire and Lightning. They might move in our territory while you're weakened!"

"They could, but I sincerely doubt it. My information sources are usually impeccable and they have alerted me that Kumo's interests lie elsewhere," the Hokage concluded confidently. He made a tiny motion with his hand and Naruto walked to the other side of the table. "Now, I'm very sorry to conclude our session but I have another appointment."

The ambassador squinted up at Naruto's masked face, looking decidedly unhappy as the blonde-haired ANBU gently- but firmly- directed the man away from his chair and towards the door. He opened it, nodding to the _Jonin_ escort behind him. Ambassador Basho left the office, looking decidedly unhappy, and Naruto turned back to the Hokage. As soon as the door shut, Sarutobi slumped in his chair and rubbed his face wearily.

"That man…" the Hokage mumbled in an exasperated tone, speaking to nobody in particular. "If they were truly worried about national security then they shouldn't have dissolved their Hidden Village."

Naruto busied himself making a cup of steaming tea for the Hokage while the old man took the brief respite to have a rest. These constant meetings were tedious on the both of them and when Naruto turned around, Sarutobi's head had dipped and he was snoozing. The ANBU carefully placed the cup of tea in front of his leader and pulled out the next manila folder on the pile. He opened it, studying the appointment schedule carefully.

"We have a meeting with a dignitary from the Land of Frost," he informed the apparently-snoozing Hokage. "They haven't given us a topic but…"

Sarutobi let out a loud snore and Naruto paused. The Hokage's hat had fallen down over his eyes and a little trail of drool was leaking from one side of his mouth, his pipe dangling uselessly on the other. The cup of tea sat in front of him, unattended, as steam rose from its surface.

"Hokage-sama?" He called loudly.

Sarutobi shifted in his seat, muttering something unintelligently, and Naruto sighed. He put the folder down and clicked his fingers. Almost instantly, a_ Chunin_ messenger appeared in the office, bent down on one knee and waiting for instructions.

"Tell the rest of them that Hokage-sama is not taking any more visitors," Naruto told the prostrate shinobi. In a _Body Flicker_ just as good- or better- than anything Naruto could produce, the _Chunin_ messenger disappeared and Naruto frowned, his arms crossed.

"Alright, there," he said snappishly. "There are no more bad meetings. You didn't have to fake a sickie to get out of it, you know." He turned back to the Hokage was not surprised to see him calmly sipping his tea.

"Ah, excellent work, Ferret," Sarutobi murmured. "I had the most refreshing of naps."

"Yeah, in the seven seconds you lazy-", Naruto was muttering something sarcastic under his breath and as such unprepared for the heavy tome that struck him in the head. He let out a cry of dismay as he was propelled to the floor, Sarutobi glaring at him from behind his desk.

"I wanted three sugars!" He snapped.

"Take what you can get, you old codger!" Naruto snapped back, rising to his feet. "And stop abusing your aide!"

"I'm the Hokage-I can do what I want!" Sarutobi thundered. From behind his mask, Naruto made a face as he picked up the book that the old man had just lobbed at him. "And stop making faces!"

Naruto froze, grimacing. He put the book away, sighing mournfully, and approached the Hokage's desk. There were piles of neat and tidy paperwork all over it, and barely any the table was actually visible. Naruto picked up a folder from the first pile and began to survey it carefully. After a few moments, he signed the bottom and placed it on a new pile. This continued on for a while, the Hokage quietly supping his tea and Naruto worked diligently through the stack of forms. There was nothing overly major in them, just some logistical requests for the rebuilding of residential Sectors of 13 – 18, and the Hokage was happy to allow his assistant to complete the work in his stead.

After a while, the Hokage finished his tea and stared contently out the window at the sombre faces of the Hokage's Monument. Naruto finished a stack of paper and clicked his fingers. Chakra pulsed, activating one of the transmission seals located in the office. It sent a signal that lighted up its receiver- a blinking yellow light in the Communications Office, and a messenger was there in an instant.

"Take this to the Missions Assignment Desk, please," Naruto ordered, unloading the stack of paperwork in the poor man's arms. "Then take this," he placed a scroll in the top pocket of the _Chunin's_ vest, "to the Nara Clan House- for Nara Shikaku."

"Yes, sir!" the messenger bowed his head and disappeared with the stack of papers in his arms.

Naruto turned back to the table, idly pondering which stack of papers he would tackle next. The sun shone down through the window and a nice breeze blew in to the room. Sarutobi seemed content to laze in his chair as Naruto started on a new stack of work. A puzzled expression crossed as his face as he read one of them, pausing in his work to go and consult a thick tome on the bookshelf, then came back and firmly denied the request. As he was working, there was a polite knock on the door.

Naruto looked up, a frown on his face, and a _Jonin _entered the room. He wore a green bandana across his head and appeared to be sucking on a senbon.

"Excuse me, Hokage-sama," he drawled, looking completely unconcerned at his interruption. "Tsunade-sama is asking if she- oof!"

Tsunade hadn't even waited for the man to finish before she barged in, her apprentice trailing behind her. The _Sannin _was scowling fiercely as she confronted the Hokage. The old man's hat was covering his eyes and he was snoozing rather unconvincingly. She paused in her step, her golden eyes raking over Naruto, and a curious little smirk crossed her face. Naruto held back a sigh and waved the _Jonin _away. He nodded, looking pretty amused, and closed the door.

"OI!" Tsunade barked at the Hokage. Her arms were crossed and she looked unimpressed by the old man's little nap. "I know you're not really sleeping, so unless you wake up…"

The Hokage suddenly snorted, his head rising. He grunted, moving his hat and blinking rather blearily. His eyes came to rest on Tsunade and he blinked.

"Oh, hello!" Sarutobi greeted rather enthusiastically. He looked puzzled. "Were we scheduled to have an appointment today? I can't seem to recall…" He trailed off.

Tsunade snorted as she took a seat opposite of the Hokage. Her assistant came to stand behind her, but she kept staring at Naruto as the _Sannin_ and the Hokage began to talk about introducing new hospital safety procedures. Naruto only half-listened as he was drawn into a staring contest by Tsunade's assistant.

From what he had heard, her name was Shizune and she despised him.

Apparently what Naruto had done to Tsunade had left a bad impression on the older _Jonin_. He had only encountered her briefly, no more than a few minutes at a time as he went about his duties but every time he had seen her she had been glaring at him angrily. This time she wasn't holding her little pig and continued glaring at Naruto as he put down the paperwork and went to stand behind Sarutobi.

"Ah, yes," Sarutobi murmured. He gestured at Naruto. "Have you met Naruto yet?"

Tsunade's eyes came to rest on him and she slowly smiled. It wasn't a nice smile. "Yes," she answered simply. "Yes I have." There was much unsaid in her sentence but Sarutobi apparently didn't pick up on it as he nodded genially.

"Excellent!" He said, practically beaming. "He's my apprentice, you know. I'm actually quite proud of him. He's an excellent shinobi, adheres to the Will of Fire and works extremely hard when attending his duties. I couldn't ask for a better apprentice."

"Oh?" Tsunade cocked an eyebrow. She gestured at Shizune. "And have you met Shizune before? She's _my_ apprentice," Tsunade stressed, giving Sarutobi a rather significant look. "She also works hard and is one of the best medics I've ever taught. She's definitely earned her _Jonin_ rank and saved countless lives."

Both Shizune and Naruto preened under their mentor's words. Sarutobi was still smiling but his eyes narrowed imperceptibly.

"Then they have something in common," Sarutobi said lightly. "Did you know that Naruto here delayed the second invasion of Konoha? After that, his team singlehandedly encountered the enemy leader and destroyed the weapon that was going to destroy Konoha. He's to be praised, indeed."

Tsunade put back hands on the table. "Well, Shizune just spent a week healing over one hundred shinobi!" she countered, her voice beginning to rise. "What's more, she's also reorganised the hospital storerooms and volunteered her services in the Children's Ward!"

Naruto's smile had frozen behind his mask and Shizune looked very strained as their mentors glared at each other.

"Naruto can make tea!" Sarutobi countered

"Shizune can wash clothes!" Tsunade growled.

"He washes the dishes and gets Konohamaru ready for training!"

"She looks after Tonton and fetches my booze!"

"He does my work!"

"She lets me sleep in!"

The two were glaring at each other, their hands on the table as they leaned forward. Shizune looked like she was despairing and threw a dirty look at Naruto, whose mouth dropped open. He silently pointed at himself and shrugged. How was it his fault? Shizune ignored him as she gently placed her hands on Tsunade's shoulders and tried to calm her down. Naruto gritted his teeth and quickly picked up Sarutobi's pipe. HE filled it with tobacco and presented it to the Hokage, who snatched it away and popped it in his mouth. At the same time, Shizune had presented a flask from somewhere and Tsunade took a gigantic swig of it, swallowing a mouthful with an audible sigh and wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. Both assistants sagged in relief as the tempers of their respective mentors seemed to die down.

"How about a little challenge then, Tsunade?" Sarutobi suddenly mentioned as he puffed on his pipe, "Your apprentice against my own."

Tsunade frowned. Naruto and Shizune stiffened.

"We could, of course, make a small bet on it."

Those were the magic words and the _Sannin's_ eyes lit up greedily. She took another sip of the flask and leaned back on the chair, her green jacket flapping and falling away, exposing some of her cleavage. Naruto tried very hard not to stare (too hard) as Sarutobi beamed.

"What are your terms?" Tsunade asked confidently. "Whatever they are, I'm sure Shizune can handle them easily."

Shizune looked like she doubted that but one look at Naruto seemed to strengthen her resolve and she gave her younger counterpart a challenging look. Naruto just shook his head at the stupidity of it and crossed his arms, determined to stay out of it.

"Seem as how it's almost lunchtime, what do you say about having our lovely apprentices here go and fetch us a meal?" Sarutobi suggested. He puffed on his pipe, sending a cloud of smoke billowing into the air. "We can give them, say, ten minutes to make us our lunches. The best lunch, naturally, wins the contest."

"Sounds dumb," Naruto deadpanned rather loudly.

"I'll do it!" Shizune said at exactly the same time, making a fist.

"Well, she's already beating yours on attitude." Tsunade smirked. She leant back in her chair. "Still, what more could you except from a little brat like him? He doesn't look like he makes a very good apprentice. Are you sure you made the right choice?"

Naruto twitched at the rather obvious use of emotional blackmail. He shook his head despondently and didn't say anything else. Sarutobi seemed to take that as a sign that he had agreed to participate and nodded.

"Very well, then," the Hokage said. HE clapped. "Off you go, then. I'm very hungry."

Shizune bowed, while Naruto was just shaking his head. Together, they walked towards the door and out of the office. Naruto sighed as the door closed behind them and turned to look at his counterpart. She was staring at him rather determinedly, the challenge blazing in her eyes. Naruto narrowed his eyes and stared back. A fierce blaze of determination began seep into his body as he clenched his fists.

Oh, it was **on.**

For a moment, both apprentices were still. Then, in a flash, they were moving. Naruto felt a pang of surprise as Shizune launched forward with incredible speed, moving much faster than he had been expected, and he struggled to keep up with her as they dashed down the hallway. Other shinobi and well-dressed men and women cried out and flinched as the two apprentices came bolting around the corner. Shizune was gritting her teeth as she dodged and weaved through a crowd of unaware obstacles, her Medic Nin evasion training assisting her, while Naruto merely leapt to the roof, flipped upside down and bounded over them.

Shoulder to shoulder, both puffing loudly, they turned the last corner and approached the kitchen doors. They burst through them with ease and wood splintered as the doors were knocked off of their hinges. Luckily, the kitchen was empty and Shizune immediately grabbed the nearest available bench. Naruto took the one next to her and they pushed and shoved one another on their way to the fridge. The door was yanked open and both apprentices grabbed whatever they could, leaping back to their benches and dumping everything down. Naruto's hands were moving as a blur as he chopped a lettuce and sliced a tomato in seconds. He grabbed a wrap while throwing up a block of cheese. It soared into the air, slowed and then began to fall. Naruto had already lined the wrap with the salads something glinted in his hand. The kunai blurred through the air as Naruto sliced the cheese expertly, allowing it to fall on his wrap. He grinned, throwing a look at Shizune.

Shizune ignored him as she finished putting a plump cherry on top of the icing. Naruto gaped at the frosty cake that she had somehow conjured in the last minute as Shizune threw him a triumphant look.

"They said lunches!" Naruto protested loudly, his hands still blurring as he started slicing up rolls of cold meat and throwing them onto the platter he was making.

"This is a lunch!" Shizune snapped back. She was delicately cutting the cake into thin slices, arranging each slice neatly on the plate in front of her.

"That's a dessert!" Naruto growled. He was squeezing the mayonnaise bottle as if his life depended on it. "And how did you make that so quickly?"

Shizune smirked. "Please. I've been doing this for two decades! You've got nothing on me, kid!"

They both finished up at roughly the same time. Shizune glared at him. From behind his mask, Naruto glared right back. Then, they both grabbed their plates and flew from the room, jumping over the shattered remains of the door. Naruto was in front at first but Shizune darted past him as they turned a corner. Something jabbed him in his ribs and Naruto grunted. Shizune used his distraction to take the lead, a victorious grin on her face. Naruto growled and caught up to her. He yanked on her hair and she shrieked, faltering in her steps.

This went on for the next minute, the two apprentices pushing and shoving and tripping each other as they fought to reach the door to the Hokage's office first, each precariously holding onto their tray of food. They turned the last corner, barely avoiding bumping into an administrative officer- Naruto ducked and Shizune side-stepped- and raced for the door. Naruto's heart was pumping, his lip curled back and his teeth bared. The adrenaline and rush surged through him as he reached out for the door- just as Shizune did. They turned on each other, whacking and slapping and jabbing at each other's debilitating points as they fought to open the door before the other.

Then the door opened for them and both Naruto and Shizune fell in. Both assistants cried in unison as they toppled into the Hokage's office, their plates flying up in the air and its contents become dislodged. A moment late the food came crashing down right on top of them. Naruto's mask was blurred as salad, wraps, cake and fruit came smashing down on it. He used a hand to wipe the food off of his face and shook his head dazedly, looking around.

A tall, thin man stared down at him in bemusement. His head was covered by an elaborate headdress, made of feathers and satin, which had the symbol of the 'Land of Fire' emblazoned on it. He wore a sash of silk and fine cream robes, ornate symbols sewn on up the seams. He loosely held a fan in his right hand and was fanning himself absently. Behind him, Sarutobi had palmed his face and Tsunade was outright laughing.

The Fire Lord, ruler of the Land of Fire and perhaps the most politically powerful man in the world, had just watched Uzumaki act like a complete fool. For a single split second, Naruto was completely and utterly mortified.

"Fool!" Sarutobi thundered.

"Idiot!" Tsunade yelled.

A thick tome and a silver flask rocketed through the room. The book collided with Naruto's head, the flask with Shizune's, and both apprentices- who were struggling to get up- slammed back into the ground under the force of the throws.

The Fire Lord let out a shrill, noisy giggle and fanned his face majestically. "Oh, how amusing!" he cried out. "How very amusing indeed!"

Minutes later, a very apologetic apprentice prostrated on the floor feeling very sorry for himself. Tsunade had taken Shizune and left- although Naruto was certain that he had heard her boisterous laughter the moment the door had closed. Above him, Sarutobi and the Fire Lord sat around the Hokage's desk, eying the despondent apprentice with varying degrees of amusement. Sarutobi just looked exasperated and grumpy, his eye twitching as he regarded Naruto, who tried desperately to sink into the carpet.

"Oh, yes, you have a very interesting apprentice, Hiruzen," the Fire Lord exclaimed. His voice was rather high-pitched and it almost had a whiny quality to it. The fan in his hand never seemed to stop moving, either. "Oh, yes, very interesting indeed!"

"My apologises," Sarutobi grunted. He folded his arms and gave Naruto a specific look. "He also apologises. Don't you?"

"I apologise, Daimyo-sama!" Naruto repeated quietly.

"Oh, yes!" the Fire Lord chuckled. "He's very young- very young indeed!"

"Young _and_ foolish," Sarutobi agreed.

Naruto bit his lip, wanting to remind the Hokage that not ten minutes ago he had been praising Naruto up and down. However he held his tongue, recognising the look on the old man's face. It was the look of somebody just looking for an excuse to make a poor, abused aide's life miserable, not out of any specific grievance but because the old bastard thought it was incredibly hilarious.

"Ferret!" Sarutobi barked. "For goodness sakes, stop slacking off! Stand up and make some tea for the Fire Lord!"

Naruto was up in a flash, opening the jar of tea leaves and preparing the tea as the Hokage apologised to the Fire Lord.

"…not always his fault," the Hokage was saying as Naruto bought over the Fire Lord's tea. "I must confess, I have lobbed an extraordinary large amount of rather heavy items at his head. While his combat skills have not suffered, I do not believe it has done much for his common sense."

Naruto ignored the slight as he usually did- at least, as he usually did when the Hokage had company- and carefully lowered the cup of tea to the Fire Lord's face level. He allowed the Fire Lord to see all angles of the cup and then carefully raised it to his face. A small gap opened up on his mask, right near his lips, and Naruto took a careful sip of the tea, making a point of visibly swallowing it in front of the Fire Lord.

"Oh, yes!" the Fire Lord exclaimed as Naruto gently placed the now tasted and tested tea down in front of him. "He's been trained well, oh yes, trained well indeed!"

Naruto bowed his head in thanks and straightened. As he did, he noticed the documents and maps on the Hokage's desk. At the moment, there was a large map of the Land of Fire spread open and a route had been traced out with red ink. On top of that there was a list of provisions donated by the Fire Lord to the Village of Konoha- and next to that there was a mission request scroll tied with a crimson ribbon. This observation all happened in a second and Naruto didn't linger as he retreated to his position behind the Hokage and awaited his next orders.

"I'm glad to see that recovery efforts are going well, oh yes," the Fire Lord mentioned casually, as if he was talking about the weather. "It's such a shame about Gyanburu no Machi, oh yes, such a shame indeed. The Lord of Tea Country is most upset, oh yes, most upset indeed."

"As are we all," Sarutobi responded gravely. "One-hundred thousand lives, men, women, children- all taken in a second. I am to understand that the entire city is gone, turned into a smoking crater with very little left."

"Oh, yes!" the Fire Lord agreed. He took a sip of his tea, his face showing his approval. "Some were from the Land of Fire, many from Tea Country, oh yes! Including the Lord of Tea Country's favourite niece, oh yes. Such tragedy!"

"We feel for his loss." Naruto didn't know if the Hokage was being a tad sardonic right there but he certainly sounded sincere.

"I expect many angry letters from him, oh yes," the Fire Lord continued. He fanned himself idly. "If only you'd left some of the enemy alive, oh yes. But the Lord of Tea Country has nobody to take his anger out on, oh yes, nobody indeed, so I, of course, will take that burden."

"I apologise for the efficiency of our counterattack." Sarutobi's voice was definitely dry at that point. "However, I felt it was best that we remove the threat to the Land of Fire as soon as possible."

"Oh, yes!" the Fire Lord exclaimed. "You did well, oh yes, exceptionally well indeed!" He hid half of his face behind his fad and giggled. "In fact, was it not your exceptional apprentice that led the team that stopped that madman from destroying this village?

Sarutobi nodded gravely as Naruto straightened. "Yes, it was," the Hokage answered quietly. "He performed exceedingly well given the circumstances. The loss of Gyanburu no Machi was tragic, however, the situation could have been extremely worse. Every capital and every Hidden could easily have been destroyed in a single day."

"A powerful weapon," the Fire Lord said quietly. He fanned himself. "Oh, yes, a powerful weapon indeed." He brightened. "But we are forgetting something! You, ANBU!" He pointed at Naruto with his fan. "You have the gratitude of the Land of Fire and the personal thanks of its' Lord. Should you ever desire a reward, you only need to ask and I will provide it for you- such is my generosity! Oh, yes!"

"My thanks, Daimyo-sama," Naruto said gravely. "I was merely doing my duty."

"Oh yes, of course!" the Fire Lord giggled shrilly. "However, good work should be rewarded. Oh yes, it should! My reward stands!"

Naruto hesitated and then bowed his head silently. It was hard to tell what the Hokage was thinking but there had been a flash of emotion behind his usually hard eyes, something fierce but fleeting. The Fire Lord snapped his fan shut and slapped it on his palm.

"Now, we must talk business!" the Fire Lord cried. "I have begun raising finds to help assist you in your repairs. Oh, yes! My son is levying the nobles back at the Capital while my daughter has gone on a tour of sorts." He made a face. "A tour, oh yes, something to inspire good will and motivate the nobles who live in the further regions!"

"That is excellent to hear," Sarutobi said quietly.

"Tell me, Hiruzen! What do you need?" The Fire Lord opened his fan and began fanning himself again for no particular reason. "After all, I cannot have my Hidden Village in ruins!"

Sarutobi motioned at Naruto and he left his spot behind the Hokage. He walked to some of the completed paperwork and picked up a pile of papers. He dropped them on the desk in front of Sarutobi, who took the first sheet off the top of the pile and handed it to the Fire Lord.

"Dismissed, Ferret," Saurtobi ordered. "Go and clean yourself up."

"Hokage-sama, Daimyo-sama," Naruto said with a bow.

He was glad to get out of that room. After spending over half of his life putting up with the Hokage's exaggerated tantrums and false moods, Naruto had developed a keen sense of when somebody was acting less than truthfully. With the Fire Lord- despite all of his eccentric mannerisms and quirky speech patterns- Naruto hadn't been able to get a read on him at all.

He was glad to get out of that room and away from the eyes that had barely left him.

The next couple of days were extremely awkward for Naruto. The Fire Lord, as a show of trust and respect for the Village Hidden in Leaves, had planned an extended week's stay in the village. A full contingent of samurai had been stationed outside the village walls- mostly a symbolic gesture than anything else- and the Fire Lord's personal guard had arrived. Wearing thick red sashes with the unique symbol of the Twelve Guardians, these _elite_ shinobi apparently trusted nobody. There were six in Konoha at the moment and three never left the Fire Lord's side.

Despite Naruto's role as the Hokage's aide, they had expressly forbidden him to be within the Fire Lord's proximity without the Hokage's presence. Naruto would have taken it personally except that the rule apparently applied to all shinobi. It made the completion of his duties hard when the Fire Lord was touring the Hokage's Tower or wandering about curiously and there had been several times when Naruto had been kicked out of the tower. There was no use protesting and, honestly, he was glad to have an excuse to stay away from the Fire Lord. The unknown gleam in his eye whenever he encountered Naruto was disturbing and the poor boy briefly wondered if the Fire Lord had _those_ sorts of tendencies.

He was working at the Mission Assignment Desk, sorting out the different repair orders for the squads of _Genin_ that were scurrying about assisting with the rebuilding when the ANBU came for him. A flicker of movement caught his attention as a single ANBU member appeared in the office, a dog mask on his face.

"Ferret." The ANBU's voice was emotionless. "You have been summoned for a mission. Report to the briefing room."

There was the authenticity pulse through his tattoo and Naruto nodded. The ANBU member disappeared in a flicker of movement while Naruto put away the last of the scrolls and closed the filing cabinet. Then, he made a handing and disappeared in a Body Flicker. A little while later, he stepped into the Headquarters for the ANBU.

The entrance to ANBU Headquarters was located on the bottom level of Hokage's Tower and the facility itself extended underneath Konoha towards the Hokage's Monument. Several facilities called these catacombs home- the Torture and Interrogation Department, the Advanced Research and Developments Office and the General Intelligence Services Agency. Naruto's tattoo pulsed with chakra on his arm as he confirmed the correct passcodes and was granted access. Although he couldn't see them, he knew a full Combat Platoon guarded the entrance to these restricted areas at all times.

He walked through the hallways, his footsteps echoing loudly in the deserted corridors. The _Genjutsu_ barriers were effective in cases of intrusion. Only those who knew the correct route through them could pass them otherwise infiltrators could spend days wandering the corridors without getting anywhere. He opened a seemingly random door and entered yet another dull and bland corridor. This time, it was a real one and occasionally he would pass another ANBU operative. Some of them nodded respectfully at him, others ignored him completely. There were some whose faces he knew and there were others who were completely unknown to him.

The ANBU were the Hokage's personal army. They conducted military operations, both domestically and internationally. They were the soldiers of Konoha, whereas other shinobi were the workforce of Konoha. The ANBU fought the enemy to protect Konoha and her interests. Shinobi fought the enemy to complete missions and make money for Konoha. That was really the only distinction between the two- ANBU would be sent on missions that generally had nothing to do with money while shinobi were more mercenary. As such, there was a higher level of confidentiality required within the ANBU, for security and safety purposes.

The identities of most ANBU were generally_ not_ classified. In many cases, the use of ANBU mask was partly tradition but mostly practicality. Many benefits came from wearing one, but the cost and labour spent making one meant that they were hardly ideal for mass production. The identities of those beneath the masks were not secret and the families and friends of many ANBU members knew exactly where they worked. For the most part, this was true. The exception was Konoha's two Assassination Teams and Konoha's First Combat Platoon- Alpha Team.

Alpha Team was the Hokage's most elite squad and were the exception to the rule. If you joined Alpha Squad, you never left. Their identities were hidden and classified to all but the Hokage. They were the most elite. They were the most dangerous.

As Naruto passed a member of Alpha Squadron, he silently reiterated his opinion that they were also the ones with the biggest sticks up their arse. He shook his head, rolling his eyes, as he strode through the corridor and approached the mission room. He entered and saluted the ANBU Commander, who stood behind a table waiting. Several other robed and masked figures stood around it and Naruto stepped forward to join the former members of Sigma Squad.

Naruto had been the sole member of the Hokage's personal squad, and that squad had only been expanded due to a clause in the Wartime Conditions Policy. After the alert level for Konoha had been lowered, each member of Sigma Squad had been reassigned back to their original squads. The last he heard, ANBU HQ was still trying to sort out the mess that Gamma Team had become and he hadn't heard anything about Kage's Recon Squad.

"Good. We can begin." The ANBU Commander was nothing if not to the point. He gestured to the desk, pointing at a map of Konoha. "There have been reports of raids and attacks in these areas _here_." He pointed to the region along the north-east border of the Land of Fire. "We assumed they were criminals and dispatched a _Special Jonin_ and a team of _Chunin_ for a simple policing job. They have not reported in."

Naruto frowned.

"Intel suggests that a noble has now disappeared on his way back to his villa. The Fire Lord feels very strongly about this sort of thing so we're sending you out to find out what's going on." The Commander pointed at Kage. "Kage, your Recon Team has point on this. Komachi, you will take what's left of Gamma Team's Third Squad and support him. Ferret is still attached to your unit and will join you. Find out what's going on. If it's a serious incursion, we'll send additional firepower. If not, fix the problem yourself. Questions?"

Nobody spoke. Naruto couldn't help the grin behind his mask as his swivelled his eyes, taking in the sight of his comrades. He would enjoy working with them again.

"A warning: the Fire Lord may have already hired a team of bounty hunters to the scene already. If he has, do not engage them unless they engage you first. He may have hired Kumo to make a point to Konoha and I do _not_ want you starting a war with them. Understood?"

"Sir!" they all chorused.

"Dismissed."

The newly formed Team Kage filed out. The moment the door closed, Yuuka was on him, mussing his hair affectionately.

"Captain Cutie!" she squealed. She paused. "Well, not captain but still! Cutie!"

"Gerroff!" Naruto growled, although something lurched in his stomach and his protests and struggles weren't that sincere.

"It's good to work together again, Kage," Komachi said to Kage.

"Hey, boss!" Daichi greeted. He paused. "Ex-boss. Eh, you're all my boss. Everybody's my boss."

"Team." Kage didn't speak very loudly but when he did everybody fell silent and listened. "Gather your equipment. We leave from Mission Gate Four in thirty minutes."


	15. The Blood Cult: Part II

**The Blood Cult- II**

* * *

><p>Team Kage left Konoha and travelled north-east, towards the borders between the Land of Fire and the Lands of Rice and Hot Water. This part of the Land of Fire was perhaps the least inhabited and there was still an almost untameable quality to the area. Long ago, before the founding of the Hidden Villages, the infamous Senju clan had called these lands home. It had been a dangerous place for somebody not affiliated with the clan to travel and many people have simply disappeared within the Senju borders, never to be heard from again. In time, the mystique died and some settlers did venture into the lands, joining the remnants of the Senju clan who had remained in their ancestral homes. Together, they carved themselves a niche in the industrial sector.<p>

Whether it was due to the powers of the First Hokage, or perhaps a Senju in the long-forgotten past had also possessed the notorious _Wood Release_ techniques, but the trees in this part of the Land of Fire were different. Some would say that they were sentient, aware of the coming and goings of those around them. The villages and towns in the area didn't seem to think so and made their living in the lumber industry. The wood here was highly prized, very sturdy and in high-demand in all parts of the world. Initially, there had been some concern that sacred trees of the _Senju _would all disappear. Early on, though, the lumberjacks had discovered that the stumps of the trees they had fell would relatively quickly regenerate and within the span of a few years another tree would have taken its place, as tall as any of its brethren. It made the lumber industry extremely profitable, cutting down on costs, and they used the rivers in the area to transport the lumber to other parts of the Land of Fire.

Given the mystique of the area held by much of the common populace, the region was relatively quiet. War had not touched the land there since the time of the warring clans. Any hostilities between Kumo and Konoha had taken place in the bordering countries between them, the Land of Rice, the Land of Hot Water and the Land of Frost. This had not endeared the Great Villages to the populations in those areas, but some would argue that it was a worthwhile sacrifice. As the area was relatively peaceful, there wasn't actually a large _shinobi_ presence. There was a battalion of Leaf Nin located on the border between the Land of Hot Water and the Land of Fire and a few scattered _Chunin_ Police Squads in the region but that was about it. Occasionally, outlaws or bandits did try to intercept travelling merchants and supply caravans but lumber was a hard commodity to smuggle and many thought that it wasn't really worth the effort.

Team Kage consisted of the remnants of Recon Squad _Iota_ and Gamma Team's Third Squad. Naruto was still officially attached to Gamma Team and had joined _Jonin_ Komachi, _Chunin_ Towa, _Chunin_ Yuuka _and Chunin_ Daichi in this mission, all under the command of _Jonin Captain_ Kage. For the first few hours, Team Kage patrolled the border, flying through the trees. Kage, Daichi and Yuuka were in their elements here as they occasionally stopped to look at tracks and signs that Naruto hadn't even noticed. Komachi and Towa also looked out of their elements as well – they were combat specialists, not trackers.

It was several hours into their patrol and Kage had taken them closer to where one of the attacks had reportedly occurred, just fifteen minutes outside the nearest town. The ANBU leaped from branch to branch, Kage in the lead, and came to a halt when the captain raised his hand. Naruto, who had taken position at the back, watched as Kage cocked his head. A minute went by as the ANBU squad waited patiently.

"Listen," murmured Kage, his voice barely audible. "Do you hear anything?"

Komachi, his second in command for this mission, tilted her head. Naruto frowned underneath his mask, straining his senses to the maximum. He closed his eyes and allowed the sounds of the world around them to drift into his ears. He could hear birds chirp, the wind rustling leaves, the faint cries of distant animals and the chirp and buzz of insects. His own heartbeat filled his ears, the rising and falling of his breath quite noisy when he was still. Yet, from all of that nothing unusual struck his senses.

Komachi evidently thought so too because she shook her. "I hear nothing unordinary," she answered quietly.

Kage nodded. "Yes," he agreed. "Nothing unusual. Yet, Katsura Village is located only fifteen minutes west of our position. It's a small village that produces a great deal of lumber. During this time of the day and this time of the year, there should be men all throughout these forests working."

"There's no sound of human activity," Komachi said with dawning comprehension.

Naruto listened again. Kage was right. He couldn't hear anybody speaking near them at all. There were no distant thuds as axes thumped into trees. There were no sawing noises as workmen processed the fallen trunks. No chatter, no laughter, no nothing.

Kage sniffed the air. "Yet, there is a smell…" he fell silent, pondering. "We're going to divert off our path for a few moments."

The rest of the team acknowledged Kage's instructions and together they bounded towards Katsura Village.

* * *

><p>Katsura Village was a rather small village located in the inner depths of the Land of Fire. Surrounded by dense foliage, thick trees towered over it- doing a very good job of hiding it from aerial view. As they approached the village, Naruto saw that it was quite undefended. There were no walls or gates. It was an open village, made primarily from timber and wood. The roofs of the houses were made from the thick bundles of leaves from the forest and must have done an adequate job of keeping the water out. The biggest structure in the village was at the other end, a large rectangular building that had been built next to the flowing river. The river pushed a waterwheel, which must have turned something inside the factory.<p>

It looked like a nice, quiet village.

Yet, the closer they became the more and more Naruto tensed. Kage had been right. There were no sounds of human activity coming from ahead of them at all. They had passed a worksite a few minutes ago and it had been completely deserted, as if nobody had shown up for work. No smoke rose from the chimneys of the factories and nothing around the houses seemed to move. Team Kage approached the village at good speed and leapt from the edge of the tree line. They landed in a crouch on the cobbled road that led into the village and rose.

The village ahead of them was silent.

Nothing moved.

Kage's hands flashed and Naruto inclined his head in agreement. Although the sun was shining rather nicely down on him, he shivered as he past the boundary and entered the village. The team split up and Naruto walked forwards, his footsteps silent. The houses lined up neatly around him, looking undamaged and untouched as far as Naruto could tell, but many of the front doors had been left open, rocking and creaking as the wind blew through the ghost town. Naruto clenched his hands, his heart beating quickly, and approached one of the houses. Despite the lack of an immediate threat, his hand slipped into his cloak and he pulled out a kunai. He also noted the positions of several objects suitable for the replacement technique, before he took a deep breath and entered the house.

It was the house of somebody who tried very hard to keep it clean despite the age and cluttered nature of the house. It was a small home, with only four rooms. Naruto had walked into the kitchen and he stared at the dinner table. There were five seats, two large seats at both ends of the table, two smaller seats on the sides and one that had been clearly raised up for a small child. Dinner plates and tin cups had been left uneaten. There was a chopstick on one of the plates that had speared a piece of meat and then dropped, as if the entire family had decided that they weren't hungry at the exact moment. Naruto bent down and placed a gloved finger in one of the dinners.

It was cold.

He pulled it out and carefully wiped it on the faded green-patterned table cloth. The sun shone in from the kitchen windows as the blond ANBU decided to inspect the other rooms. They were much the same. The beds hadn't been slept in and were still neatly made and tucked in. In the main bedroom, he saw a bundle of muddied and soiled clothes, large- big enough for a man. His eyes also tracked down and saw a pair of thick, rubber boots, and an axe leaning on the doorframe.

The worker had come home. He had gotten change out of his work clothes, expecting his wife to wash them for him. He had started dinner with his entire family. Then, they had all left and vanished.

He searched the rest of the house for any more clues, pausing briefly in the smallest bedroom and staring at a fluffy white teddy. It stared back at him with dull black eyes, a grin sewn on to its face, and Naruto quietly closed the door. He made a cursory inspection of everything else but nothing else jumped out to him, so he left- leaving the front door open exactly the way he had found it.

The wind flew into the village and the wooden creaked. Naruto continued his search for the next few minutes and met up with the rest of his squad at the end of the street.

"Report," commanded Kage, his voice barely a whisper.

"There was a disturbance at the village stables," Daichi murmured. "The soil was disturbed and the wood had been chipped near the stalls. The horses seemed to have taken the doors out and bolted."

Daichi's report was the only one of substance. The rest reported what Naruto had already seen. The occupants of the village had come home from work. Dinner had been made, kids had been bought in from outside. Then, for no discernable reason, everything had been left exactly where it was and the population had vanished. Naruto finished his report and waited for Kage to speak. He felt tense. The eerie atmosphere of this silent village was beginning to get to him.

"Could it be poison?" Kage asked Yuuka quietly.

"Maybe," the Yamanaka replied softly. "It would have had to be distributed in an instant and affect the entire village at exactly the same time. It might have been airborne. It would have needed to be extremely potent, causing immediate symptoms. I haven't detected any poisons in the air, so it's possible it broke down after a short period of time. But, there are two problems."

Kage nodded at her to continue.

"There's no indication that bodies had fallen on the ground," Yuuka said quietly. "Nothing was knocked over or disturbed. It might have caused immediate paralysis, but on this scale? And…"

"There are no bodies," Daichi finished for her grimly. "I've used my _Byakugan _to scan the village. I can't detect any chakra signs at all."

"Are there toxins that can dissolve corpses?" Komachi asked.

"Some," Yuuka answered, but she shook her head. "But not like this. There's usually _something_ left over. Puddles, dust, grit. There's nothing here."

Kage was kneeling down, examining something in the dust. He traced it with his gloved hand and stood back up. "I saw a lot of tracks coming from every home," he murmured. "Multiple people, all leaving at about the same time and heading towards the other side of the village."

"Orders, sir?" Naruto asked quietly. Personally, he wanted to get the hell out of this strange village

"Continue searching for survivors," Kage commanded after a few moments. He brushed the dust off of his cloak. "We'll split up and cover each area of the village. After ten minutes, converge on the entrance to the factory."

The ANBU nodded grimly. Kage had said 'survivors'. They were now acting under the assumption that the village had been attacked in some way. They disappeared in a flash of movement.

* * *

><p>Naruto began his search of the village in a small patch of grass at the edge of the village. Somebody had attempted to put up a fence at one point but grass and plants had quickly overtaken it, the forest working hard to reclaim the stolen land. Nonetheless, somebody had taken good care of the park. Four longs had been arranged in the middle and a pile of sand had been dropped into it. The grass was trimmed neatly and a children's playground had been set up. Naruto passed the sandpit and eyed the children's toys on top of it grimly. The cheap, plastic, Iwa-made shovel and bucket had been in use when the 'incident' had occurred. He could imagine a small child digging into the sand, filling the bucket and then stopping- the spade still half full as the child…<p>

Well, he didn't know what had happened.

He moved on, past the sandpit and to the park benches. A book had been dropped on the group, its pages flipping in the wind, and a pram lay unattended next to it. A bright-faced doll, two red circles for cheeks, grinned up at him happily, its blank eyes gazing unseeingly into the sky. Naruto carefully bent down and inspected the inside of the pram. He found a crumpled bag and a small bottle of souring milk, left unattended like everything else, but the baby was gone. His eyes caught sight of bright pink threads lining the pram and he frowned.

The parent had been able to pick the baby up, who had probably still been wrapped in the blanket, as the incident was occurring. The more Naruto saw, the more he became convinced that it hadn't been a poison attack. The strongest poisons could be found in _The Land of Wind,_ produced by Suna for their shinobi, but nothing he had ever heard of could have caused something like this.

There was a dark feeling in the air as Naruto stood up again. He surveyed the area carefully, almost nervously. His_ sensor_ abilities weren't amazing but they were adequate in small areas, yet he couldn't feel a single shred of chakra around him. Still, there was something unpleasant lingering in the air, something that weighed down on his shoulders.

He continued to inspect the village, moving past the park and further into the dead town. Doors lay open, streets unused and fires long burned out. There was a fountain further up ahead, still operating and shooting a gentle spray of water up into the air. A cart lay unattended in the middle of the road, full of dirty workers gear and sharp axes, while-

Something howled and jumped at him! Naruto jerked back, his chakra flaring as he instinctively used the replacement technique. His body felt like it was being squeezed as the space around his body warped, an almost instantaneous swap happening with one of the large crates on the unattended cart. He crouched, his kunai whipping into his hand as he tried to get a good look at his attacked. The wooden box splintered as whatever it was pushed it away and lunged towards Naruto. Its movements were slow to a shinobi and the young ANBU dodged a wild, feral swing and swung his leg up. The attacker let out a grunt as Naruto kneed it in the stomach, bringing the handle of his kunai up and slamming it into the attacker's cheek.

With a skittish howl, the creature drew back and the blond finally got a good look at his attacker. It was a man, emancipated and greasy. What Naruto thought had been fur at first was actually filth, covering almost every inch of his body. His eyes were wild, his mouth frothing, and blood seemed to drip from every inch of his exposed body. The rags he wore clung to his body and he snarled wordlessly at Naruto, readying for another lunge.

Naruto made a hand sign, his chakra flaring- and abruptly the feral man shrieked, his arms coming up as if Naruto had struck him. Then, he turned and bolted away like a madman, howling madly into the air. Naruto, his hands still formed in a hand-seal, watched him go, his heart beating madly as adrenaline coursed through his veins.

"Shit!" He gasped, the shock of the encounter wearing off.

The man's howls ran throughout the village as Naruto formed a seal and thrust his arm up in the air._ Lightning Release: Lightning Signal Flare!_ A bolt of electricity discharged into the air, lightning up the sky as it exploded. A good user of this technique could change the specific way that the technique exploded, and Naruto formed the ANBU symbol for_ 'Rendezvous' _and waited.

After a few minutes, the rest of Team Kage began to converge on his position. Naruto's hands flashed in code and they formed a defensive perimeter until the rest of the squad had reached their position.

_: Status? :_

_: Single enemy contact : male, unknown age : moving west :_

Daichi frowned, his head rising and peering in that direction. He gave a slight shake, indicating that his _Byakugan_ couldn't see anything. Nonetheless, Kage gave the silent command to form up and Team Kage began to follow the path that the feral man had left. They rose to the rooftops in a defensive formation, Kage and Daichi at the front and rear ends, Komachi and Towa right behind then and Yuuka and Naruto side-by-side- a flexible formation that allowed them counter an attack from all directions. There was no sign of the man but it seemed like he had been heading for the large factory.

After they had reached a certain distance, Daichi suddenly raised his hand and the group halted. Kage turned his head, his two glowing eyes shining brightly behind the artificial darkness of his hood, and nodded as Daichi silently requested to speak.

"There's something unusual about the factor," the Hyuuga murmured. "I thought it was just empty but it's not even registering on my _Byakugan_. It's a big black spot that I wouldn't even have noticed if I hadn't been looking at it."

"Chakra sources?" Kage asked.

"None." Daichi made a strange noise. "But there's something there. I can see a mist of…of…" He struggled to explain it. "It's a mist of nothingness, I suppose, the absence of anything. It's leaking from the building, blocking out everything behind it."

Naruto peered at the looming factory. He couldn't see anything but he trusted the eyes of a Hyuuga. Kage took this into consideration and the squad advanced, jumping on rooftops and making their way to the factory. As they reached the entrance they halted and Naruto took in a deep breath. There, on the large metal doors, an archaic symbol had been drawn with a thick crimson liquid that Naruto instinctively knew was _not_ paint. There was a lot of it, too- more blood than one person would have been capable of 'donating'. The shutters on all of the windows were down and there was a strange chill in the air, causing the skin on Naruto's arms to prickle.

"Something inside of me is screaming not to enter that place," Komachi murmured.

The squad had unconsciously drawn closer together, their shoulders pressed against each other like rookie _genin_. Kage stood at the front, surveying the factory quietly.

"I don't think we're going to like what we find," Towa said grimly.

Kage's fingers blurred. _: Defensive formation : Recon Team top window – Combat Team main entrance : Care for traps "_

Daichi and Yuuka leaped forward and began climbing up the vertical wall of the factor, Kage in the lead, while Komachi raised an arm and signalled Naruto and Towa to take formation. Together, they walked to the bloodied door and entered the desolate factory.

* * *

><p>Outside of the factory walls, Katsura Village had been virtually intact. There had been no signs of a struggle. The buildings had not been damaged or destroyed. There had been no signs of violence. Within those four factory walls, Team Kage had descended into a kind of hell that none of them had ever encountered before.<p>

The first indication that something was terribly wrong was when they had opened the door and two things had seeped out form the inside. The first had been a veritable river of blood, the crimson liquid oozing over their feet and pushing against the door. Naruto had instinctively applied chakra and watched with a sort of horrified detachment as the blood flowed out of the factory. Then the second thing had struck them all at once, a terrible, overpowering stench of death. It filled his nostrils, threatening to make him gag, and he was only just able to activate the mask's filters before he was sick. The buzz of flies filled his ears as Towa pushed the door open, past the river of blood, and then stood back with the rest of his team.

Despite all their training and emotional conditioning, each ANBU member hesitated. None of them wanted to go inside because they knew _exactly_ what they were going to find. Komachi recovered the quickest and gestured forward. Naruto and Towa reluctantly obeyed, stepping inside the darkened factory.

The door slowly creaked shut behind them, cutting off all of the light. The loud buzz of flies filled the air, intermingled with the harsh breathing from all three ANBU. The floor was sticky and wet. The three shinobi were pressed up against each other, grateful for the body warmth that they produced that fought against the unnatural coldness that lingered in the air around them. Naruto didn't want to turn on his enhanced vision features of his mask. He really didn't want to.

He did and Hell greeted him, leering at him with broken teeth and hollow eye sockets. Naruto flinched, his breath shortening, and he staggered back until his back was pressed against the door. The corpse grinned maniacally at him from its spot at the entrance to the foyer, crucified against the wall. Its body was missing large chunks of flesh and its skin had been peeled off. Blood, urine, faecal matter and all kinds of body matter clung to it, many of its bones were visibly exposed and its nose had been torn clean off its face.

It was the most horrible thing Naruto had ever seen.

He had thought the Sky Nins had been horrible as they burned their way through the southern regions of the Land of Fire. But their torture and murder of the inhabitants of those helpless towns was _nothing _to what was inside that factory.

Naruto, Komachi and Towa had stepped inside the factory and into the entrance lobby. It was hard to tell what features it had had before. The floor was literally overflowing with blood and symbols of all sorts had been drawn on the walls with surprising care. There were no other bodies within visual range but the buzz of the flies only go louder as they looked past the first crucified victim at a set of double doors which lead to the factory floor.

Naruto swallowed and embraced his emotional conditioning. His mind became strangely calm as he forced the horror of what he seen down into the very recesses of his mind. With a deep breath, he gently bumped Towa and Komachi. The two turned to him as Naruto gestured silently at the door. Then, somewhat breaking protocol, Naruto took the lead and allowed Komachi and Towa to follow him. He reached out with a gloved hand and gently pushed the doors opened.

There were mountains of bodies- twisted, disfigured, deformed. Men, women and children had been thrown into piles, blood flowing down them towards the entrance lobby. From what remained of many of the faces Naruto could see, they had not died well. Their faces were twisted into eternal expressions of agony, signifiers that their last moments had been squeezed horribly out of them.

Beyond the mountains of corpses bodies had been pinned up on the walls, arms splayed out and bolted down with thick metal spikes. Blood dripped form these corpses as well- or what was left of them. Many of them were not in one piece, some with only a head and a meaty limbless husk for a body. Strangely enough, every body Naruto could see had a head. He caught movement in his eye and froze, his eyes swinging up. It was Kage, leading Daichi and Yuuka up above them on one of the metal walkways that criss-crossed over the factory floor. Bodies had been pinned up against the ceiling, arranged around that same symbol that had been splattered over the factory doors- a perfect circle with an upside down triangle fitting in it.

His tattoo pulsed and Naruto sent a pulse back, silently gliding over the blood and past a pile of hacked off limbs. The closer he got the bodies, the more he saw how horrible mutilated and tortured these poor people had been. In one case, the enemy had torn off the flesh off the poor boys torso and carved symbols into his very bones. The sheer look of agony on the corpse's face made Naruto shiver- he looked like he had been alive when it had happened.

The deeper they walked into the mass grave, the denser the flies got. They were everywhere, drawn in from miles away by the smell of death, and hovered over and in the bodies without care. They stayed away from the ANBU group, content with the meal they already had. He was so very glad that his mask had filters on, he really was. Komachi and Towa strode behind him, each taking in the horrifying sights around them with forced detachment.

It was carnage, the worse kind of carnage that Naruto could have possibly ever imagined.

Kage, Daichi and Yuuka leapt off the rails and landed down silently in front of Naruto. Yuuka and Daichi had that air of forced detachment around them but Kage was an enigmatic as ever, looming over the piles of tortured bodies, the two little white lights that represented his eyes glowing soullessly. Their Squad Captain knelt down by the nearest body and began inspecting it as the rest of the team formed a loose formation around him. Naruto saw Towa staring at the agonised expression of a small boy, no older than five, as if he was unable to look away. He only reacted when Komachi touched him on the shoulder, jerking back as his head flew around, and then he patted her hand softly. Both Daichi and Yuuka had drifted closer to Naruto, the two exchanging lingering touches as if to reassure each other that they were still there.

Naruto gestured at Daichi. _: Watch for incoming : _ he signed and Daichi nodded. Although he couldn't see the bulging veins around his eyes he knew that were there as Daichi became still, seeing all around them- probably with perfect clarity. The _Byakugan_ was possibly the second worst bloodline to possess around living nightmares like this- the first being the _Sharigan_.

He couldn't imagine having these images seared into his head for the rest of his life, unable to forget.

Kage stood up from the body and led the team deeper into the factory. Ritualistic symbols had been drawn everywhere. Naruto didn't like looking at them. They seemed fine at first and they had been drawn with care. It was definitely more preferably examining the sigils than it was the bodies. But the longer he looked at them the more it seemed like they were moving, blood oozing against the power of gravity and squirming in the confines of the symbol. Yet, when he looked away and focussed his attention somewhere else he could always see them at the edge of his peripheral vision, something deep within his psyche recognising them as a threat to be watched.

His breathing was harsh to his ears as Kage stopped, eying the bodies all around him. Their cloaks were blood free- the liquid flowed off it as water did on oily surfaces. Kage reached into his cloak and pulled out a small book. He consulted it for a few moments.

_: Total population- seven hundred and fourteen:_ Kage signed.

Naruto looked around grimly. That seemed around right.

There was no sign of the mysterious attacker as they came to the centre of the factory floor. Here, makeshift barricades had been placed up and many bodies lay on the ground. These were different- they had relatively normal inflicted wounds one might receive in battle. Naruto eyed the shovel held the hands of a corpse and the axe buried in that same corpse's chest. They have fought each other. His eyes raked over the battlefield, pausing briefly on the middle-aged woman who still had her hands wrapped around a child's throat. The little girl's face was blue, her wide green eyes frozen with terror and horror and betrayal. The resemblance between the girl and her attacked was too much and for a moment Naruto's mental stability threatened to collapse. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath, and steadied himself.

Something was brewing in the deep, dark parts of his stomach. Embers were being stoked, a terrible fire beginning to crackle and burn. Naruto embraced the feeling, his fists clenched tightly.

Kage bent down on some of the corpses. He examined them as Naruto looked away, the young, blond ANBU not wanting to risk threatening the mission with an emotional outburst. Kage stood, his fingers flashing.

_: Flesh underneath the fingernails : factory tools used as weapons : free-for-all struggle : _the silent captain signed. _: Cause- amusement for the enemy? :_

As Naruto stared at the makeshift barricades and the walkways around and above them, he could just imagine their faceless enemy watching from above as the civilians fought each other to the death. The woman had been willing to strangle her own daughter to comply with whatever the enemy had wanted. Perhaps they had been promised freedom, or guaranteed that they would be spared, lies said as their friends, families and people they knew were butchered all around them.

There was a loud clang and the ANBU squad stiffened. They formed around each other, standing in the middle of the arena, backs together. Kage kept his head straight as he whispered very quietly.

"Daichi?"

"Negative," the Hyuuga breathed.

"I want him alive," Kage said emotionlessly.

There was a flicker of movement from the shadows. Naruto tensed and watched, his eyes peering past the mountain of bodies and into- there! The same feral man jumped out, screaming and wailing as he had before. He had a loggers hand axe in his hand, waving it about madly as he charged at them.

It was an unfair fight. Naruto simply moved forward, ducked underneath he first wild spin and delivered a solid uppercut into the other man's gut. The feral man wheezed and Komachi moved, senbon and wire whipping through the air as she bound them man together in an elaborate rope of metal. The man ranted and screamed and wailed, driving away the deathly silence in the air as the ANBU squad surrounded him.

"There's no chakra in him!" Daichi said. His voice was faint. "It's impossible, but it's true. There's not a single shred of chakra in him at all- just that blankness."

"Yuuka." Kage only said her name and the Yamanaka nodded.

She seemed reluctant as she approached the prisoner and placed both hands on the side of his head. At her touch, the man stilled and Yuuka froze. It lasted a few moments and the last echoes of the man's screams faded away. The silence returned.

It didn't last long. With a sudden scream, Yuuka's hands flew away from the man's head as if it was on fire and she staggered away. She was bent over, almost gasping, and managed to take off her mask before she was sick all over the floor. Naruto was there instantly, patting her gently on the back as she took deep breaths of air.

"What did you see?" Kage asked quietly, waiting a few moments so that the Yamanaka had time to recover.

"Not much," she answered. She was still breathing hard but her voice had taken on a dead tone, flat and uncaring. "His mind is a mess. There's not much left of him, he's almost gone, almost one of _them_."

"Who?" Kage asked urgently.

"I don't know," Yuuka answered. She gestured at the now flailing and crying man. "He didn't know either. He was eating dinner when they all stood and walked here. It was as if something had compelled them to come here. When they got here, there were robed men- I don't know how many, maybe ten? Maybe more."

Despite her tone, she seemed reluctant to go on and Naruto squeezed her shoulder.

"They spent the entire night torturing them," Yuuka continued quietly. "Most of them just stood there, waiting for their turn. They tied him up," she gestured at their bound captive, "and made him watch. They forced his family to fight in the arena. His wife used their baby as a club to beat their son to death. They gave him a knife and showed him how to carve his skin, to praise their…their…their god." She struggled to find the word.

"Then?" Kage pressed.

"Then they left," Yuuka finished softly. She held her hand to her head, her eyes fluttering shut in concentration. "That man there, he thanked them for their gift and wished them luck."

Kage was motionless. The twinkling dots behind his hood seemed to be growing brighter. "Will we get any more information from him?"

"No." Yuuka sounded certain.

Kage nodded. Then, he raised his dull-black machete and ended their captive's suffering with a single swipe. "Come," he ordered. "Let's get out of here."

* * *

><p>In the following hour, the ANBU secured Katsura Village. Naruto had summoned a messenger and sent a message to the Hokage, asking for immediate reinforcements for the region. Komachi had drawn a few sketches, tracing the symbols very carefully and briefly drawing some of the bodies they had recovered, and Naruto had sent them too.<p>

The entire squad was sombre and quiet. Yuuka had donned her mask again and had gone silent. She didn't speak and spent a lot of the time seemingly staring at nothing. Naruto could see her emotional conditioning at work, completely repressing her emotions and memories. When she did speak, her voice was monotone but she sounded oddly distracted at times.

It was the curse of the Yamanaka.

Kage had secured the perimeter of the town and the squad formed up around him.

"There are tracks heading north," he told them grimly. "They left sometime this morning, after they were done here. There's another town not far from here. Four hundred citizens."

The implication was not lost on them.

"It's possible that this cult is the one responsible for the disappearances," Kage said. "As such, we will pursue."

"They've gotten ballsy," Daichi murmured. "Going from picking off some travellers to wiping out entire towns."

"The Sky Blitz may have provided them with the opportunity they were looking for." Kage sounded like he had been thinking about this a lot. "Konoha is distracted. The Fire Lord's eyes are south."

They packed up their equipment and prepared for departure. Naruto had reached into his pack and pulled out a flare. He aimed it at the sky and fired it. It flew high up into the air and exploded in a shower of crimson sparks, a glowing ball of light hovering in the air. It would stay there for some time, the Code-Red symbol warning for all those who saw it not to approach. Hopefully reinforcements would be there within a matter of hours.

Kage nodded at Naruto. Although the young ANBU had never really seen Kage show any strong emotion, ever since leaving the factory there had been a deadly stillness to every movement he made every. Naruto knew that, in his way, Kage was furious, and he nodded back at his Captain seriously.

They would find out who was doing this and then they would put a stop to it- permanently.


	16. The Blood Cult: Part III

**A/N: Hey guys. Here's an update. I wasn't going to post it until the chapter after this was done but I have a request. There's a Harry Potter story called "****Harry Potter and the Forests of Valbonë" by ****enembee****. He's an awesome writer from DLP and I'm pimping out his story to see if he can get 1000 reviews by August 14****th****. Give it a try and, if you like it, leave him a nice review.**

* * *

><p><strong>The Blood Cult- III<strong>

Team Kage left the small lumber village behind them in silence, the glowing red orb of light still hovering over the village silently, casting a chilling glow down upon it. It was fitting given the mass execution site that they had just left and they were all silent, lost in their own thoughts. For Naruto, it was still something that he was having trouble coming to terms with. From what he remembered from his life before ANBU- and there wasn't much- Naruto had experienced some of the harsher realities of life before. There had been loneliness, ostracism and sadness. People hadn't liked him very much. It had not been nice and he would forever be grateful for the Hokage for lifting him above those feelings, moulding him into a shinobi and giving him purpose and a place to belong.

However, Naruto was not deluded or conceited enough to claim that his childhood had been worse than everybody else's. In his age group alone, Uchiha Sasuke had gone through a much more traumatic and horrifying experience- one that would forever linger in back of the other boy's mind. Perhaps the Uchiha would have understood better than he did. Naruto just couldn't comprehend the point of all the suffering and pain that those poor people in the village had gone through. He simply could not comprehend _why _somebody do something like that. Even with all of his experiences in the ANBU and working as the Hokage's assistant, it still eluded him.

It kept the young ANBU quiet during their fast-paced travel to the next town. Daichi and Yuuka were in the lead, the former using his _Byakugan _and the latter using her limited _sensor_ skills to try and locate the enemy. It was a long shot, especially after what Daichi had reported back at the village. The tortured man had not had any chakra in his body at all, and that warehouse had emitted a kind of energy that acted as a kind of blind-spot to the fabled eye techniques of the Hyuuga. Naruto couldn't explain that either. Everybody, from the lowest of the academy students- even civilians- to the most powerful Kage's, knew that chakra was essential to life. Without chakra, one could not live. It was the product of physical and spiritual energy, naturally produced by all living creatures- plants, animals, humans. Even the world had natural energy, ancient chakra flows that ran deep through the earth- far out of reach by any living being.

How could somebody survive without chakra? What had that strange energy been?

Naruto leapt from one branch to the next, the wind rushing through his hair. As he landed, his handed drifted up and touched his stomach as a startling realisation came to him. Was that strange energy…_demonic?_ But, no, it hadn't felt anything like what Naruto briefly remembered from those hazy memories inside Ancor Vantian. Still, if anybody in Team Kage could locate the enemy then it would have to be Daichi and Yuuka. Daichi had his eyes and the blank spots would be just as good as an indication as actually seeing them, while Yuuka had the best sensing capabilities out of all of them. The human body, especially those of shinobi, expelled chakra from their _tenketsu_ regularly- it was part of the chakra circulatory system, much like how human's exhaled carbon dioxide. Such chakra quickly dissipated into the air quickly, but it acted like a beacon to those with the talent to perceive it. Even if the enemy were _not_ using chakra, perhaps Yuuka could detect some residue of that other strange energy.

Hopefully Team Kage could locate and intercept the unknown attackers before they reached the next village.

At the front of the group, Daichi held up a hand and Naruto tensed. He took a deep breath as he finished his jump, shelving his thoughts, questions and emotions and landing neatly on the thick tree branch. By his body language, Daichi was looking forward intently, peering at something far beyond the range of a normal eye. With the _Byakugan_ activated and for the most part, Daichi could automatically see 50 meters around him. With some effort, he could extend that range and see ten times further, although it took some chakra.

"There's something up ahead," Daichi murmured. "Blank hazy spots in my vision- wait!"

He fell silent and his hands flashed. _: Contact : 3 – 5 contacts incoming : 450 meters and closing :_

The ANBU Team moved back into the shadows and waited. They didn't have to wait long. For a shinobi, covering 450 meters could take less than a minute. Naruto stilled his breathing and quieted his mind. His senses were trained on his surroundings, a strange, calm clarity filling his mind. He heard them before he saw them, the faint tap of feet striking against wood and the rustle of leave as the contacts came closer. Then, they came into visual sight and Naruto almost breathed a sigh of relief.

Leaf headbands gleamed in the light of the sun as the three new Leaf Nin leapt through the trees. One wore the vest of a Jonin, although it was torn, battered and stained with blood. The other two wore bandannas over their faces, clad in Chunin vests. The lead Jonin looked vaguely familiar and Naruto was sure that he had seen him before in the Missions Assignment room. He sent a pulse through his tattoo- _possible friendlies_- and suddenly Kage appeared in front of them, causing them to halt.

"Identify." His voice was short, sharp and to the point.

The Jonin cocked his head, staring somewhat curiously at the ANBU. Naruto got a closer look at the Jonin and a name popped in his mind. He sent a request through his tattoo, a series of chakra pulses, and Kage tilted his head fractionally. Naruto leaped forward, landing in front of the newcomers in a crouch and standing up.

"You're "Konoha's Lion," Naruto said quietly. The name rang a bell for Kage, who nodded in recognition. "Where's the rest of your squad?"

The Lion had been the _A-ranked_ Jonin first assigned to the region after the reports of raids and attacks had filtered through to Konoha. He had led a group of seven _Chunin_, a more than adequate amount of shinobi to take care of a B-ranked mission. Tall, with dark shaggy hair and a thick beard that almost looked like a lion's mane, Naruto remembered him as an intensely focussed man. Now, though, he looked somewhat dazed, drenched in blood and eying the surroundings curiously.

"You don't understand." The Lion's voice was hoarse and rough, as if he had been using it too much.

"What?" Naruto asked, frowning.

A strange feeling was tingling in the pit of his stomach and he was beginning to feel edge and tense. He was faintly aware of the rest of Team Kage moving into position around them, reading to drop in if necessary.

Kage took over the questioning, sounding faintly irritated. "Where's your squad, _Jonin_?" he pressed.

Something flickered over the Lion's face and he gestured absently at the two people behind him. Naruto could hear the harsh breathing of the Chunin, deep and raspy. They eyes were fervent and bloodshot, the only things visible from behind the bandannas wrapped around their face.

"Identify." Naruto commanded.

"They can't talk," The Lion explained. He seemed agitated, his body twitching. "They spoke only of blasphemy and the Lord decreed that they shall never speak again." He grinned rather madly. "It was a good thing," he said sagely. "Now, they understand."

"Where's the rest of your squad_?" _Kage repeated. "I will not ask again, _Jonin_."

"They did not understand." The Lion grinned, showing his bloodied teeth. Naruto saw something caught in them, the flesh or meat of some kind of animal, and a strong aroma washed over him. He sniffed it, recognising it almost instantly. Blood- human blood.

Kage recognised it too. "Stand down, _Jonin_," he ordered. "We've been sent to take this situation under control. You will be escorted back to the nearest garrison and questioned."

The Lion abruptly focused. "I can't let you do," he said thickly. He swallowed and licked his lips. "You don't understand. We will show you."

With almost no warning at all, The Lion demonstrated one of the techniques that had earned him his moniker. He reared up, head drawing back and _roared_. It was a terrible beastly roar, the roar of a lion with the power of wind behind it, and Naruto and Kage disappeared under a concussive wave of pressured air that tore them to shreds. Their bloodied husks fell to the ground and disappeared in a cloud of smoke- one from a _Shadow Clone_ dispersing and the from the _Replacement_ technique.

The Lion did not look disappointed. In fact, a savage grin crossed his face and he motioned to his squad. "Show them!" he boomed, his voice rising into the air. "Make them understand!"

Team Kage was already on it. The moment Kage had shown himself to the arrivals, Towa had raised his arm. The intricate and elaborate seals tattooed onto it glowed with bright scarlet light, stretching off the skin and creating a glowing, chakra-based version of something that looked like a cross between a crossbow and a tube. With Kage's escape, he let loose and fiery darts of blazing chakra shot from the contraption in his hands. They slammed into and pierced the chests of both Chunin, causing them to stagger back.

Then, to his surprise, the Chunin righted up, seemingly unaffected. They reached for their bandannas. They unfurled them, revealing mutilated and mangled heads. One of them had been bludgeoned by something and parts of his head were caved in, while the other had been scalped and burned, her face completely destroyed. Dried blood, muck and dirt covered their wounds- but no fresh blood seeped out of them. Only their eyes had been left untouched, feverish and completely insane.

Naruto and Kage moved to intercept The Lion, moving in tandem as they blurred forward. The Lion brandished his arms and revealed the second reason why he had earned his moniker. A set of thick, jagged metal claws emerged from the back of his hand, tearing through his dirty skin. The artificial contraptions planted in his hands must have hurt but the man showed no indication as he leapt forward, swiping madly. Naruto rolled to the right as Kage parried the blow with his dull-black machete, reaching into his pouch and pulling out a set of shuriken. He threw them and made a hand sign.

_Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!_

Three shuriken became three dozens, slamming into The Lion's chest and upper arms. The Lion made a loud, frantic noise, pausing for a brief moment, and that gave Kage enough time to lodge his blade in the traitorous man's chest. The man gasped, his eyes rolling back into his skull, his face slackening and becoming strangely at ease. Crouched down he was, Naruto reflexively recoiled in disgust as he saw The Lion become aroused, his entire body shuddering. Then, with a wide grin, he swiped at Kage again and again.

"You make me so happy!" he roared. Spittle flew from his mouth. "Give it to me again!"

Naruto's hand blurred. He drew in a breath, released moulded elemental chakra from the _tenketsu _in his lungs and used the _tenketsu _in his diaphragm and roof of his mouth to spit out a swirling sphere of compressed air. Wind chakra, depending on how it was refined, could be used as either a heavy sledgehammer or a fine scalpel. Naruto had chosen the latter and the razor-sharp winds shredded skin and dove into The Lion's knee. His leg buckled and his kneecap exploded in a shower of gore and flesh. The Lion let out a shriek of ecstasy which was only cut off as Kage neatly took off his head. It bounced to the ground as The Lion's body froze, and then is suddenly collapsed like a puppet with all the strings cut off.

"Shit!" Naruto muttered in disgust, rising up from his position.

Kage stood over the body as the rest of the team finished up their fights. Despite their fearsome appearance, the Chunin had not been able to survive the blunt force of Towa's glowing, scarlet battle-axe or Komachi's razor wire and the two ANBU bought the bodies over, laying them next to The Lion.

Naruto stared down at The Lion's head. "I've talked to him before," the blond ANBU murmured. "I mean, he was an arsehole, but he was loyal to Konoha and a good shinobi."

"He was compromised." Komachi sounded somewhat angry. "But they fought poorly, disregarding their own well-being and actually wanting to be hurt. They fought like berserkers or mad Inuzuka, not proper shinobi."

Daichi stirred next to him. "He had no chakra in his body," he said solemnly, "only the blackness of that strange energy. From what I saw, it was holding them together but when you…damaged…them, it began leaking out into the air. The more you damaged them, the more the blackness left their bodies."

"It's used to sustain them," Kage murmured. "Typical fatal attacks will likely prove to be ineffective, where blunt force trauma and physically damage attacks will probably be more effective."

Yuuka had taken out a small black book and was carefully writing down the general description and names of the shinobi they had just taken out. When she was done, she closed it and placed it back in her pouch. Kage pondered the bodies for a moment longer.

"They most likely saw the flare," he concluded quietly. "Therefore, they must have been relatively close. Dispose of the bodies. We must catch up to them."

Naruto burned the bodies with a fire technique, scorching flesh and bone and letting their charred remains sink into the ground. Then, he joined the rest of the team as they continued their pursuit of the enemy.

* * *

><p>The implications of the battle they had just fought were disturbing. Although the remnants of the traitorous patrol had shown a significant decline in combat ability, the fact that the enemy were able to brainwash a seasoned and experienced Jonin was worrying. Then there was the strange energy emanating off of the indoctrinated shinobi. According to Daichi, their chakra had been completely replaced by whatever that power was. Naruto couldn't see it but he could feel it- it left chills down his arms and caused an uncomfortable prickling sensation in the pit of his stomach.<p>

Naruto had a few ideas what _that_ was about but now wasn't the time to think about it.

Instead, he followed Kage's lead as the tall, silent captain led them through the forest. They leapt from one branch to another, the trees growing thicker and thicker the further they ventured into the Senju's ancient territory. Naruto had once read a theory that proposed the reason why the Uchiha had been so proficient with_ Fire Release_ techniques was because of an old, centuries-long plan to invade and destroy the heart of the Senju homeland. Looking around at the thick brush around them, Naruto concluded that liberal use of fire techniques would have had a devastating effect on the region.

Although the battle hadn't taken very long, by the time they arrived at their destination Naruto knew that they had been too late. The chill in the air seeped through his cloak and into his skin as something prickled uncomfortably in his gut. Daichi flicked off a few hand-signals and Kage nodded grimly. The squad captain led the team out of the dense brush and past the tree line, approaching a small, deserted town built on the edge of a river. The sun was lowering on the horizon, casting a brilliant orange and yellow glow over it, but it did little to hide the atmosphere of _wrongness_ that clung to the town like an invisible, thick shroud.

The town was much in the same condition as the village they had just come from. Things had been placed down or abandoned as if the residents had simply stood up and walked away. After seeing how powerful the unknown brainwashing technique was, Naruto supposed they had done just that. The street lamps remained unlit and doors and windows were open. This time, because of the town's proximity to the river, there were hundreds of footprints lining the muddied streets. They led to the river, over a small, wooden bridge and into a rough, makeshift path that led into the forest depths on the other side of the riverbank.

Kage knelt down by the tracks, staring at them intently. He pressed on them with his fingers, measuring their depth, and then eyed the sun. His team stood around him, waiting patiently, while Kage made his conclusions. After a few moments, Kage nodded and rose to his feet.

"They have not been gone long, twenty to twenty five minutes," Kage told them quietly.

Naruto felt a blaze of determination well up within him. In Katsura Village, their enemy had taken the entire night to ritualistically torture and slaughter the defenceless population. They had shown a great deal of interest in causing pain and suffering. This was good news for Team Kage- the citizens of this village could still be saved! The team leapt off of the road and began to follow the tracks that the civilians had made. However, before they had even left the village Daichi had paused.

"Contact!" he called out. Kage raised a hand and the team paused. "Deceased- but there's lingering chakra. 400 metres at 2 o-clock."

The team followed Daichi's directions, moving towards the west side of the small town. As they moved through the streets, Naruto looked on the horizon and saw the trees give way to a small hill at the end of the town. A large villa stood, framed by the sun slowly setting behind it. At this distance, he could the rows of vineyards planted on the base of the hill and the large marble path leading up to the luxurious house. It must have been the estate of the noble in charge of this region- it was far too nice for a simple villager or worker. The squad closed the distance quickly and, at the base of that hill, they paused. They had found their first casualty.

It was a man in his thirties, fierce grey eyes staring up at the sky blankly. His face had been contorted into grim anger- and even acceptance of his fate- and he held the shattered remains of a halberd in his hands. He wore some kind of uniform but it was hard to tell what it was with the large chunk of flesh missing form his upper right side. The man's heart- and everything around it- was simply gone, his entire body stained crimson red. He lay back against a carriage of some sort, which showed evidence of an attack. It had been a nice carriage, too, with a splendid gleaming wooden frame and fine silk coverings over the broken windows. Now, it was barely more than a pile of firewood.

"A noble's guard?" Komachi suggested quietly, having made some of the connections that Naruto had.

"Perhaps," Kage murmured, eying the body speculatively. "But that uniform…I have seen that before."

Naruto's eyes widened and he exhaled loudly. "So have I," he murmured.

His team turned to look at him as Naruto bent down, gingerly parting the bloodied scraps of cloth around the man's mangled chest and turning it around. It was soft, even soiled, and he picked up the unique emblem stitched into it. Naruto nodded grimly, his suspicions correct.

"This is one of the Twelve Guardians," he told Kage.

"What?" Daichi exclaimed. He sounded shocked. "One of the Guardians, here?"

Kage said nothing as he bent down to examine the sash. As Komachi began to offer reasons why a Guardian might be here- especially when the Fire Lord was in Konoha at the moment- Naruto was still. His thoughts wandered back to the other day, when he met the Fire Lord- what they had talked about- he had made them tea and placed it on the desk- there had been a map with a route traced out- the carriage was one of the finest he had seen- the Fire Lord had said something, something about raising money- motivation, to motivate the nobles- and then Naruto was there.

"Oh, shit!" He breathed, his eyes widening. He stood, staring at the carriage in horror and hoping that he was wrong. "Oh, _shit!_"

"Report," Kage commanded quietly.

"I overheard a meeting between the Fire Lord and the Hokage," Naruto explained quickly. "The Fire Lord was telling the Hokage how he planned to raise money to help rebuild Konoha. He mentioned that his daughter was touring some of the far-out regions, to ask the nobles for help. There was a map…" He hesitated, his eyes fluttering shut as he tried to recall it. "I can't remember exactly where the route went, but I'm positive that it around this region."

The squad absorbed what he had said.

Towa summarised what they were all thinking. "Oh, shit!"

"Where are the rest of the guards?" Komachi wondered. "The Princess wouldn't leave the Capital without a contingent of samurai."

Naruto turned to the villa on the hill. It was still a fair distance away, probably out of range of Daichi's Byakugan. "Probably up there," he said grimly. "And they might have been affected by the brainwashing technique like The Lion was."

"Send a shadow clone," Kage ordered Naruto briskly.

Naruto complied and his clone darted up the hill. Then, Kage turned back to the way they had come. "There are tacks leading this way," he murmured. "Only one pair of feet- small, a young woman's- they lead from this estate."

"We have to find her," Naruto said urgently. He remembered the Fire Lord, his strange mannerisms and odd way of talking- and how he couldn't be read and how something intense had laid behind his eyes. "The Fire Lord…"

He trailed off. It didn't have to be said. The Fire Lord would not react well to losing his only daughter. Wars had been started over less and the Fire Lord would find _somebody_ to take his anger out on. Konoha, as the Land of Fire's largest military force, would be obliged to join him.

It would be war. After the Blitz, Naruto never wanted to be in another war again.

* * *

><p>"Let's go," Kage murmured. He seemed to share Naruto's thoughts.<p>

They followed the tracks, dashing past the town and delving into the untamed wilderness. Branches and shrubs had tried to claw back the little strip of path that the town's residents had created but somebody had recently sliced away a lot of the offending plants. They continued following the tracks of the villagers, Kage occasionally pausing to stop for a few moments while Daichi rationed his use of the _Byakugan_. Not even the strongest Hyuuga could maintain the activated state of the eye bloodline indefinitely.

It was during one of these stops that Naruto felt his shadow clone dispersing. His chakra shot back towards him at speeds far greater than any shinobi, shooting into the _tenketsu_ around the back of his neck. His vision blurred for a few moments as the visual stimuli of the shadow clone was processed by his brain. Then, he grimaced. While it had not been as bad as Katsura Village, the inside of the villa had not been pleasant. There seemed to have been a fight between the enemy and the bodyguards of the Princess. The samurai had all fallen in the main foyer, while the staff and workers of the estate looked like they had been hunted down and slaughtered. There had been a rather obese man wearing fine clothes attempting to hide in the master bedroom but he too had been killed, his head removed from his body.

He told Kage who processed the new information carefully.

"This is different from what we've been seeing," he murmured. "Their usual operation seems to involve brainwashing or tricking the civilians to come with them voluntarily. Here, the enemy actually attacked first- taking the estate by force."

"Perhaps the Princess was their primary target," Komachi offered.

"Perhaps," Kage said, but he didn't sound like he agreed. "Or perhaps she is merely a target of opportunity. The daughter of the Lord of the Land of Fire would be a valuable prize for many people."

The discussion ended there. They continued on at top speed, following the tracks for another five minutes as it took them upwards up a great slope. Then a warning pulse flared through their ANBU tattoos. Naruto's eyes flickered back to Daichi as the cool wind rushed through his hair, watching as the Hyuuga silently informed them of what he saw.

_: Contact : 500 metres at 10 o'clock : multiple chakra signatures detected : low emissions, E-rank : Enemy presence detected :_

Kage changed course and they cleared the distance in a few moments. The journey took them over a ridge and they came out of the trees and they came to a stop on a rocky plateau. It was several hundred metres in length, hidden by the enormous trees that surrounded them. In the middle of the flat stretch of land was there enemy and their hostages and, for the first time, Team Kage got to see who they were truly fighting against.

There were fourteen robed figures standing on the tallest part of the plateau, their faces hidden from view by their masks. It was almost like a mockery of the ANBU mask, disfigured and demonic faces leering out into the world. They all held a bladed weapon of some kind, each unique and looking equally as spiky and painful as they last. Their black robes were mostly bare, except a single symbol on their chests. It was an inverted triangle surrounded by a circle. It had been painted on with a dark, crimson liquid- blood, most likely- and it seemed to squirm and writhe on the fabric, as if it were alive. They stood over the villagers imperiously, looking down on them as if they were cattle. The villagers themselves stood in seemingly random spots around the base of that mound, their faces blank and their bodies relaxed. Only their eyes betrayed their thoughts on the matter- terrified and unable to comprehend what was happening to them. Whatever technique had been used to lure them up here, it looked like it only controlled the body and not the mind.

There were two things that immediately stood out. The first was the giant wooden cross that had been planted in the middle of the plateau, where the enemy stood. Spread out along that cross was a bloodied woman covered in scraps of clothing. They might have been nice once- and she might have been pretty- but it was hard to tell. She looked like she had been beaten, her clothes torn and her face bruised and swollen. Her hands and feet had been nailed to the cross with thick, iron bolts and she seemed unresponsive to anything around her. Her eyes were rolled to the back of her head and she was shaking madly.

The second thing that stood out was the silver-haired man that stood right in front of them. He seemed young, in his twenties, and wore similar robes to the enemy up on the hill. He wore no mask and he held a large three-pronged scythe in his hand. His eyes stood out the most and, up until that point, they were the worst things that Naruto had ever seen. They seemed like a normal pair of eyes until Naruto stared past them.

They were two foul beacons of depravity and pain. They were the eyes of somebody filled with an unholy flame. They were the eyes of somebody who looked out into the world and took delight at the misery and suffering of others. It was hard to describe, but as the man stared down at them the unholy light in them burned brighter than any flame, the antithesis of the Will of Fire. They were terrible because they were the eyes of a human- the worst of humanity embodied into a single individual.

Before then, Naruto had had trouble comprehending what could possibly have motivated somebody to commit the atrocities that these people had. Now, after meeting the gaze of this man only once, he understood.

This man did horrible, terrible thingsbecause_ he could_.

"Welcome, heathens!" He called out mockingly, spreading out his arms. "Have you come to witness our celebration?"

Kage had somehow produced his weapon the instant he had seen the man and his grip on it tightened. He said nothing, however, as Daichi let out a loud gasp, his hands flying up to clutch his head.

"It's…it's…" He seemed lost of words. "That man…that…nothingness… he is nothingness and nothingness is him…there's so much…"

"Deactivate!" Kage ordered harshly.

Naruto didn't know if Daichi, with hands on his head, complied. Komachi and Towa were visibly shivering, their breaths leaving their masks in clouds mist. Yuuka's had taken a step back while Kage's body language looked tense and uncomfortable. Naruto could feel a chill up his arms and a prickling in the pit of his stomach but that was it. He glared at the man behind his mask, sending a pulse through his tattoo that seemed to stir his other teammates. The man looked puzzled for a few moments and then a terrible smile crossed his face.

"This is fucking fantastic!" he roared, gesturing at Naruto. He licked his lips, his eyes glinting madly. "Oh, Lord Jashin, you have blessed me today! I shall honour your name with this coming battle and offering the suffering and life of my enemy to your endless appetites!"

Naruto tensed but the man frowned. Suddenly, his attitude abruptly changed and he scowled, looking quite sulky. "But first we must commence our Harvest," he told them seriously. The sun was setting behind him, casting him in a hellish glow. "Our great Lord cannot be kept waiting."

Kage took a step forward. "Yes," he said stonily, "he can."

"Blasphemy!" the man in front of them screamed. The volume was deafening as the silver-haired maniac raised his scythe. "Attack them, my prie~" His voice ended in a gurgle as Kage was suddenly beside him, his machete coming up and taking his head off of his shoulders.

It did not deter the robed figures on the hill and they shrieked and cried as they charged down at them, ploughing through the frozen civilians. Naruto, Komachi and Towa darted forward to meet them. The blonde's hands flew as the first robed figure past the motionless villagers, a crude, spiked axe swinging forward.

_Shadow Clone Technique!_ With a puff of smoke, three shadow clones appeared on all sides of the man, and at different heights, with kunai gleaming in their hands. The first, who was crouched down, slammed the blade in the back of the robed figure's knee. The second, at chest height, punctured the man's stomach and dragged the blade sideways. The third, appearing in the air at head height, dove his blade down into the man's skull with a two-handed blow.

The man screamed and collapsed as the shadow clones collapsed and Naruto moved onto the next one. He ducked a swing, dodging the wild and careless attacks with ease. In hand-to-hand combat, Naruto's raw strength was mediocre at best- good for his age and stature but nothing compared to a muscular adult. Instead of striking hard, Naruto focussed on his speed and evasion- of not getting hit- and used weapons and tools to enhance his attacking power. This time, he held a loop of wire in his hands and managed to coil it around the man's arm. He leapt back, the wire in his hand, and made a single hand-sign.

_Body Flicker Technique_! In a short, sharp burst of movement, Naruto appeared behind the man- the wire still in his hands. The momentum of his sudden movement caught the enemy by surprise and his arm was almost ripped from his socket by the instant burst of force. He came rocketing back to Naruto, who weaved between the man's flailing limbs and coiled the wire around enemy's neck. _Body Flicker Technique!_ Naruto used the same strategy again- except this time with the man's neck. There was a loud distinctive 'crack' as Naruto dropped the wire.

On Naruto's right, Towa had slid past the defences of his robed attacker, sliding a bright scarlet battle-axe up the man's torso and splitting him in half in a spray of blood. Then, the chakra representation of the axe shimmered and suddenly Towa was holding a short sword, which is drove into the throat of the next enemy he saw. There were flashes of crackling lightning and the hiss of senbon sliding through the air as, behind him, Komachi made short work of one of her attackers. Yuuka had thrown a gas bomb of some sort back from where they had arrived and two of the enemy in front of her attacked one another in a yellowish cloud of hallucinogenic poison- before Kage dispatched them with the same devastating efficiency that he had taken down the leader.

Naruto reached into his pouch and lobbed a trio of shuriken into the air. He made a sign, channelling chakra from his _tenketsu_ and shaping it into an invisible billowing cloud around him. _Shadow Shuriken Technique!_ He formed the technique and the chakra above him shimmered as dozens- hundreds- of replicate shuriken appeared. A second later, he was cut down as two more demon-faced men swung their scythes at him. As his attackers were fooled by the _genjutsu_-laden _Replacement Technique_, Naruto appeared a short distance away in a crouch. Chakra pooled in his feet and he leaped up towards where he had just been standing, forming an unusual hand-sign.

_Lightning Release: Static Pulse Shot! Fire Release: Great Wave of Flame!_

Lightning flickered around his dingers as he moulded lightning elemental chakra, pushing it from the _tenketsu_ in his fingertips. At the same time, he laid a buffering layer of neutral non-elemental chakra around it and moulded fire-elemental chakra above it, flooding the tenketsu around his throat_._ Fierce and heavy chakra engulfed his form, his other _tenketsu_ releasing an enormous build-upof pent up chakra and discharging it in the air around him- a sign of less than perfect chakra control. Nonetheless, the combination technique worked. The hundreds of shuriken, which were only now beginning to fall, were charged by a powerful streak of electricity that roared from his hands. At the same time, Naruto's chest swelled and he spat out a searing blast of heat down at them.

The lightning empowered shuriken were propelled by the raging wave of heat and slammed into the enemy, who had just realised that they had attacked a rock. The red-hot metal tore through the enemy with ease, bursting through their robes and flesh like a hot knife on butter. An instant later, the searing wave of heat engulfed them in a shimmering haze and they shrieked as their flesh blistered and cooked, eyes rolling into the back of their heads. They fell, twitching, as Naruto landed gracefully on the ground, his chakra raging all around him.

The young ANBU had not forgotten how easily he had been defeated during the Blitz, nor had he slacked in his training the past month. Under the Hokage's training, Naruto had finally begun to show some success in the techniques and methods that had made the Third Hokage the "God of all Shinobi."

When he landed on the ground, the battle was over. The enemy, like The Lion before them, had fought without care for their own well-being and had been no match for the skill of the ANBU.

"Report," Kage ordered as his team grouped up.

"Fifteen enemies identified," Komachi said darkly. "All killed in action."

Kage nodded. "Well done," he said quietly. "Towa, go and~"

"_You stupid fucks!"_

Kage abruptly jerked and Naruto let out a strangled sound, disbelief clouding his mind. From its spot on the ground, metres away from his body, the lead priest glared at them hatefully, blood still oozing from his severed head. Naruto stared, dumbfounded, as the priest began shouting at them.

"If I fucking miss this ritual, I'm going to make the rest of your short fucking lives absolute hell!" he roared with spittle and blood flying from his mouth. His eyes glowed with fervour. "Lord Jashin stops for nobody! You stupid fucking weaklings aren't going to do jack-shit to His designs!"

Komachi's hands blurred and a kunai slammed into the priests severed head. The priest gurgled, eyes widening as it glimpsed the sizzling explosive note attached to the handle, and then disappeared under a small and compact explosion. The _Grade-3_ explosive note detonated with a bang, sending gory chunks of flesh and brain flying through the air. Komachi withdrew her arm, radiating a sense of satisfaction, as Kage nodded approvingly.

"Make sure that you secure the enemy," he added unnecessarily. "Some may have escaped death despite the damage caused…" He trailed off, his breath creating a cloud of white mist as he exhaled.

The chill in the air had increased and Towa and Komachi were both shivering madly. Kage was completely and utterly still while Yuuka and Daichi flinched back. Although Naruto couldn't see the strange _blankness_ that Daichi had talked about, it could definitely feel it. Bit by bit, from all over the graveyard, bits of flesh, bone and blood began to slide back to their bodies. The screams and shrieks Naruto had heard from the supposedly-dying filled the air once more- and he abruptly realised that it was _pleasure_ and not pain that they had been screaming of. The leader's head was first to regenerate, his head building up on his body bit by bit. When his skull was mostly formed he staggered to his feet, regarding them with half a face.

He said something, sounding raspy and distorted- his throat had still not been put back together- and raised his scythe. From all across the plateau, the robed priests began to rise up from their grievous wounds. Naruto was reminded of Shinno and his regeneration techniques- but even the rogue Uzumaki had not shown anything like this. It was less like a healing technique and more like somebody reaching down and mashing flesh and bone together, like somebody with plasticine.

"The…time is…nigh!" the leader gurgled. He raised his scythe as the sun almost finished setting behind him. Naruto's mask automatically adjusted to the different light levels, so he had barely noticed. "Our sacrifice…will…begin!"

Then, almost as once, the civilians around them began to scream. His team were not responding, each frozen by the unholy chillness that had descended upon them despite the pulses Naruto continued to send through his tattoo. With a growl, his stomach prickling painfully, Naruto lunged forward and the half-repaired leader. The leader regarded him with soulless eyes and slammed the butt of his scythe on the ground.

There was a terrible shriek and a blast of _something_. Blood rained down onto the ground as some of the nearest civilians simply_ imploded_, sucked inwards into nothingness and leaving only their blood behind. As Naruto got closer the screams became more and more coherent.

"Save us, please!"

"What's this? What's going on?"

"Help!"

"Mummy!"

Frozen and unable to move, the men, women and children around them had been given their voices back. The leader had thrown his head back in relish, listening to them, and blocked Naruto's first swing of a kunai with his scythe. Sparks flew through the air as metal grated upon metal, the man looking down at Naruto cruelly.

"Listen well, heathen!" He whispered. Some more screams were cut off and another terrible wail of power filled the air. "My name is Hidan, the Head Priest of our glorious Lord Jashin! You can fight me all you want later, but for now, _don't fucking interrupt!_"


	17. The Blood Cult: Part IV

**The Blood Cult- IV**

* * *

><p>After the Blitz on Konoha and in the aftermath of Team Sigma's battle against the S-ranked criminal Uzumaki Shinno, Naruto had debriefed with Jiraiya of the Sannin. It had been a relatively quick run-down of the mission- what the team had encountered and how Naruto had proceeded. Jiraiya had listened intently and then redirected the conversation onto lighter subjects. After Tsunade had returned, Naruto had completed a comprehensive report on his actions and decisions during the village crisis. As he wrote it, hindsight had struck him hard and questions upon questions had filled his thoughts- but two stood out amongst them all.<p>

What if Naruto had kept Daichi and Kage with him during the battle against Shinno? The added firepower of two more ANBU members and the insight that Daichi's eyes may have provided could have completely turned the tide of that battle. Perhaps, if Naruto had acted differently, Team Mantis may have survived- although he still didn't know what platoon that they had belonged to and any questioning on his part had been shut down rather promptly.

There was only one other question that plagued him more. What if Naruto had been able to access the power of the Nine-tailed Demon Fox with greater ease? If he had been able to harness and control that unfathomable power within him, the fight would have gone much differently. Perhaps they would have been able to stop Shinno before he had activated his weapon and wiped a large city and almost one-hundred thousand people off of the map.

He had voiced both questions to the Hokage. The old man had nodded thoughtfully, and then told him to stop wasting his time. 'What ifs' were of no use if they were just being used to agonise and doubt every decision. Instead, the Hokage had said, Naruto needed to focus on what he would do next time. He had gone further with an answer for his second question, adding that Naruto hadn't been trained in the use of the power of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox because the chakra simply hadn't been available during his childhood.

The Fourth, Naruto was told, had been a sealing expert to the highest calibre. The seal that adorned his belly had locked away every hint of the bubbling crimson chakra deep within him, slowly purifying it and pumping it into his body. It had given him immense chakra reserves, which in turn boosted the Uzumaki longevity and endurance. But from what the Third Hokage had been able to determine, the seal had not been designed to allow Naruto access to the demonic chakra while he was young- unless he had come across a life-threatening situation. Then, fail-safes in the seal activated and Naruto could- and had- accessed and harnessed the power of the most powerful tailed beast. The seal had clamped down soon afterwards and the chakra was again out of his conscious reach.

The seal would soon begin to slowly deteriorate- the one exposure to the foul, corrosive chakra of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox had caused minor but irreparable damage that would eventually snowball into complete seal failure. The more that Naruto used the demonic chakra, the faster this process would occur. Naruto must have looked worried because the Third Hokage had laughed, clapping him on the shoulder and saying that as long as Naruto didn't use the Kyuubi's chakra again, such an event was a decade away at least, and that the seal could be repaired and refreshed before that had happened.

Now though, as the young, thirteen-year old blond boy pressed against the wicked, tri-pronged scythe of Hidan, the immortal priest of Jashin, he wished that he could once again call up that terrible power within him. All around him, men, women and children were bound by some kind of paralysing technique, but still able to scream and plead and beg for their lives. Without any warning and almost seemingly at random, a random civilian would scream in agony and _implode_, their entire body disappearing into nothingness as their blood splattered everywhere around them. This only spurred on the sobbing and screams of the others and Naruto's ears rang as sparks flew through the air.

Hidan was laughing maniacally and Naruto grunted as the slick, silver-haired man pushed back against him. His feet slid across the ground, his smaller frame unable to match the pure strength of the enemy. Then, Naruto heard the flutter of a cloak and the clang of metal meeting metal and Kage was suddenly there. His dull-black blade slammed against the scythe, holding it there as the ANBU Squad Captain stood between Naruto and the enemy.

"Go…" Kage said firmly. His voice was fierce as his body shook, somehow fighting off the terrible paralysing and debilitating effects that had struck the ANBU team the moment they had entered the engagement. "Directive One!"

Directive #1- to preserve the Will of Fire, to ensure to safety of Konoha's and the Land of Fire's citizens.

Naruto nodded. He let his anger flow through him, drawing power off of it as he pressed against Hidan's scythe one last time. Then, after shifting his stance, Naruto used the enemy's weapon to push off away from him and leave the battle. He jumped through the air, landing in a crouch, and disappeared in a flicker of movement. He reappeared close to the nearest group of hostages and began to analyse them frantically.

"You're a strong one!" Hidan roared. He sounded truly excited. "My Lord would dearly love your little soul! Come, heathen! Entertain us all!"

Metal clanged in the air and Naruto shifted his gaze for a moment. Hidan's scythe lashed out, bashing Kage away with incredible strength. The head priest was less like a shinobi and more like a beserker, howling and shrieking madly as he brought his weapon across again and again. There was little to no form or reason in the way he attacked, nor were there signs of any weapon stances. Instead, the priest seemed to rely on brute strength, his immortality and a never-ending supply of dirty tricks to overwhelm his opponents.

Against many opponents, it would have been undoubtedly successful. Against Kage, the only member of the team who was faster than Naruto, it was like trying to watch a dog trying to chase his own tail. Hidan flailed about, the scythe whizzing through the air, while Kage dodged and weaved around it. He lashed out with his blade, neat and efficient cuts slashing into Hidan's body as the experienced Jonin pushed past the enemy's meagre defences. He landed critical blows on vital points, forcing Hidan to concentrate fully upon him. The acolytes watched Hidan eagerly, many of them cheering and jeering. Whenever one of the trapped civilians imploded, they would gasp and moan in pleasure, their bodies shaking as they frothed at the mouth.

This left Naruto alone with the civilians. The young ANBU knelt down on the closest one, a middle-aged woman. Her face was tanned and wrinkled, her eyes filled with tears as she sobbed openly. Naruto examined her carefully. Her foot were rooted to the ground, lines of little black symbols curled around her feet and digging into the soil. Naruto didn't touch them but he traced over them, looking as the symbols rose past her shoes, onto her legs and possibly all over her body. He had tried to push her off of the ground, but it had been like pushing against a stone wall- the one who pushed moved, not the wall.

"Please," the woman sobbed as Naruto growled under his breath, eying the strange little symbols furiously. He looked up at her, seeing her face crumpled with miserable acceptance. "Please, forget about me. Save my chi-"

There was only a moments warning of what was about to happen. The little black symbols coiled around skin contracted and her skin split apart. Then, before Naruto could even more, the woman in front of him imploded as the chain-like seal brought a terrible pressure down upon her. She let out the first note of a piercing scream as her body warped and contorted, being pushed into a single point in space, before she abruptly disappeared. Her blood remained and it exploded out from her in a shockwave of crimson fluid.

Naruto flinched as it struck him. His mask was splattered, his clothes drenched. All around that one woman, at least a dozen more of her fellow villagers had also died, their blood falling to the ground. The orgasmic cries and shrieks of the acolytes boiled Naruto's blood, but he held it in, his will rooted in his mind. He jumped up and frantically moved to the next closest group of trapped civilians, distantly aware that his body was shaking. He knelt down, his hands glowing with moulded fire elemental chakra as he tried to burn the seal away, ignoring the pained screams of the man above him.

"Mummy!" the littlest boy of the group cried- he looked about four or five. Snot dripped from his nose, he looked utterly devastated and inconsolable.

Naruto snarled, removing his hands as the seals refused to budge. Even when he had sliced off the flesh with a flash of sharpened wind-elemental chakra, the seals had merely tightened. He stood up, his chakra surging, and formed hand-seals. _Earth Release: Earth Flow River!_ The ground beneath the man thickened and liquefied but the men, women and children remained rooted to the ground, even as a river of mud swept away the puddles of blood and rocks around them. The sealing array merely went deeper and deeper into the earth- there seemed to be no way he could cut it off without as good as killing the civilians himself. The symbols almost glowed with a malevolent purple, something eldritch and arcane brushing up against him maliciously and whispering babbling nonsense in his ear, and Naruto felt a terrible chill in the air. The symbols stretched and pressed down on the limbs of the trapped and Naruto jumped back.

"Mummy!" the little boy shrieked one last time before he, along with a dozen more, disappeared in a shower of blood.

Naruto roared in frustration and moved onto the next group. This time, he was brutal with them, ignoring their screams of pain as he severed the feet. But the sealing script merely pulled the stump of the leg down onto the ground. This group disappeared almost a minute later and he moved onto the next group. This was a group of children, some younger than him and some his age, all wearing the clothes of the Land of Fire's public education system. They were all crying and weeping as Naruto desperately examined the seals he couldn't make heads of tails. They began to stretch and the children shrieked. In desperation, Naruto palmed a kunai and thrust it directly into the sealing array below the young girl's foot closet to him.

A flash of _something_ blocked his vision and a coil of this terribly foul _thing_ slammed into him. Naruto cried out as he was flung up and away from the group. He landed in a slump, his senses dazed but still acute enough to pick up the final piercing scream of the group of children before they were killed. His robes sizzled, in tatters, and his armour beneath glowed with heat, some parts twisted and melted. Naruto was gasping for air, shaking his head dazedly, as he slowly pulled himself across the muddied ground to the next group. He had to save them, he had to save as many as he could.

But, in the end, Naruto had not been able to save even one person. His efforts had been in vain and he stood there amongst the blood soaked rocks, the crimson liquid flowing off the tattered remains of his black cloak. He was panting madly, his eyes almost feverish, as his chakra grumbled within him. Behind him, Hidan roared furiously, cackling madly as he beat back Kage, heedless of the damage the _Jonin_ did to him. Despite Kage's advantage in speed, Hidan outmatched him in stamina and durability, and the silver-haired man was grinning madly as he forced Kage back again and again.

The other acolytes were coming too, rousing from their last pleasure-induced seizure. There were no more massacred civilians to occupy them, although the Fire Lord's daughter was still nailed to the cross. Naruto ignored them, his chakra raging within him, as he took a step forward towards Hidan. He channelled his chakra through his body, pausing before it left the _tenketsu_, layering it again and so forth- six, seven times- more than he had ever done before. The dense, explosive pressure burst from him and the ground quaked and rumbled. Little bits of stone rose up, crumbling into dust, the bloodied puddles around him rippled and the air was hazy.

Hidan noticed immediately and grinned manically. "What a scary boy!" he screamed madly, Kage forgotten. He raised his scythe and gestured at Naruto threateningly. "Come on, heretic! Fight in the name of the Great Lord of Suffering!"

* * *

><p>Sarutobi Hiruzen was renowned throughout the Elemental Countries as the God of Shinobi. He had many other monikers. In the Land of Fire, he was known as The Professor, the genius who had mastered every single technique ever produced in Konoha. He was also less commonly known and referred to as one of the Three Pillars of the Old World, alongside the Third Tsuchikage, Onoki of Both Scales, and Hanzo the Salamander.<p>

These three old men wielded incredible power and, individually, were able to lay waste to entire armies. Onoki of Both Scales was a master of the infamous Dust Release Techniques, able to pulverise his enemies into molecular-sized dust. During his greatest battle against the Third Hokage, Onoki reputedly destroyed an entire island- his dust techniques turning it into powder. Hanzo the Salamander was a master of close combat. Combined with his expertise in _kenjutsu_, his finess with water release techniques and the extraordinarily potent poisons he could transfer with a single touch, Hanzo had single-handedly kept the Land of Rain an independent state for over forty years. Sarutobi Hiruzen, with mastery in all forms of shape and elemental manipulation, had an entire library to draw on during his battles. In his younger years, the Third Hokage was said to have had a chakra presence that dwarfed any other- capable of going toe to toe with any Jinchuuriki and Kage in the world. With a seemingly unique ability to form and combine multiple techniques all at once, Sarutobi had been a one-man army, capable of producing combination techniques that ordinarily would have needed entire teams of shinobi.

Naruto was the Third Hokage's protégé. He had begun to training that Sarutobi had undergone when the Hokage had been young. He had a decent knowledge of many elemental techniques and had extensive training at manipulating all forms of elemental chakra. Unfortunately, Naruto did not have the control needed to mimic his mentor's style of fighting as of yet. Fortunately, the Third Hokage had worked with him in overcoming his limits in this area and together they had come up with a process that allowed Naruto to create devastatingly powerful combination techniques.

That was why as Naruto walked towards Hidan, his chakra surging in his body furiously, his _tenketsu_ almost sizzling as the air around him shimmered and shuddered, the very first technique he used was the _Shadow Clone Technique_. A dozen puffs of smoke burst around him as replicas of Naruto's cloaked and mask form appeared. With a quick flick of his hand, Naruto directed most of his clones at Hidan while those left began to make seals.

Hidan roared and laughed as the shadow clones darted around him, lashing out with their weapons. While Naruto was an _A-ranked_ shinobi, he was also young- only thirteen- and he had a comparatively small stature. In hand-to-hand combat, Naruto was never going to win in pure strength. As such, he relied on his speed and his skill in weapons, and while the shadow clones weren't able to match Hidan's raw physical strength, they were able to dodge his furious swipes. Kunai plunged into vital points, one shadow clone ducking a scythe swing and coolly inserting the cool metal blade in the back of the enemy's knee, while another jammed it into the Head Priest's spine. Hidan merely laughed and with a quick brandish of his weapon- moving much faster than before- he dispelled the shadow clones around him with a crazed smile on his face.

"You weakli…" he began.

The two shadow clones that had stayed with their creator had finished weaving their hand signs. Each clone had been given enough chakra to create their single _ninjutsu_. As the clones finished their techniques, they dispelled in puffs of white smoke as their chakra saturated the air around where they had been standing.

_Earth Release: Earth Flow River! Wind Release: Great Wind Breakthrough! Fire Release: Blazing River!_

The earth around Hidan liquefied and became a raging river, rocking the Jashinist around furiously. The silver-haired man gave an unexpected yelp as he lost his footing and sank in the mud. The wind around him howled furiously, wind-elemental chakra roaring forward and pushing a gigantic wave of mud with it. At the same time, the last of the techniques set the river of mud alight and the soil blackened and glowed, noxious smoke rising into the air as the mud became tar. Hidan was swept under by the black, bubbling liquid, his manic laughs cut off as he went under.

The river of mud began to settle, the heat leaving almost instantly as the chakra that fuelled it began to disperse. There was a rising chill in the air as Hidan burst free from the cooling ground, his cloak in tatters and his skin blackened and blistered. He howled in ecstasy, shuddering madly as his skin began to flake off- but he was cut off as a sharp spear of rock shot from the ground and impaled him in the throat. He gurgled, desperately clutching at the offending object, and disappeared underneath a hailstorm of metal as a _Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique_ rocketed through the air. An instant later, the same unsettling chill returned and the wounds and pieces of Hidan were dragged back to their owner, like there was some unnatural form of gravity at work.

The air was still. Naruto could barely hear anything as his body thrummed with chakra. His chakra was wound tight around his body, layered upon each other to create a dense field that gave his techniques more burst. His mind, still reeling from what he had just experienced, was eerily focussed.

Hidan was a monster. He would not survive. Naruto would make sure of it.

The ground quaked and the air seemed to shudder as chakra exploded form Naruto's _tenketsu._ The dense chakra fuelled Naruto's powerful techniques as he became an unrelenting, unstoppable force of nature. For the next few minutes, Hidan was unable to react at all as Naruto tore into him with vigour. The ground exploded in giant geysers of earth and shrapnel, ripping through the silver-haired man's chest and face. Great streaks of fire lit up the sky, tearing Hidan apart again and again. Plumes of smoke rose up into the air as shadow clones burst into existence, their hands flashing, and disappeared in puffs. Naruto weaved signs, his fingers never pausing, as he formed deadly techniques again and again and again.

_Lightning Release: Electromagnetic Murder!_

The ground was torn apart, soil and earth whipping up as a crackling discharge of glowing bluish lightning attacked Hidan from underneath, the piercing bolts ripping into his ankles and knees. Flesh sizzled and bones exploded, only to be forcefully pulled back together a second later.

_Earth Release: Titan's Fist!_

The cratered and rubble-strewn earth rumbled as a giant fist of stone rose up and grabbed the dazed Hidan before the enemy had a chance to react. Deep within the ground something rumbled ominously. Naruto's chakra roared furiously through the stone construct as the slab-like fingers began to squeeze. The newest of Naruto's techniques and one that Sarutobi had decreed was one of his strongest- once fully mastered- seemed like it would bind Hidan.

But Hidan _screamed_. The terrible screeching noise filled the air and the earth around the entombed priest cracked and fell apart. An instant later, a great wall of fire had enveloped the shattered remains of Naruto's construct. The combination technique howled as it created a backdraft, hungrily devouring the air around it as it grew larger and larger. Then, it too fell apart as an unseen, spine-chilling shockwave of something foul tore through the air.

Naruto's fingers continued to blur, his breathing deep and steady. His _tenketsu _were hot and his body felt strangely light, like he was made of air. Clones popped into existence and disappeared an instant later. His hands never rested, his chakra flowed freely and his _tenketsu_ burned in his veins. Combinations of techniques that would have required whole teams to perform were done by a single individual. Chakra that surpassed that of Konoha's most elite Jonin was used with reckless abandon. For what seemed like eternity, Naruto tore into Hidan with the full force of his arsenal. The ground trembled, large swathes of the surrounding forest toppling over as the earth was violently torn apart from powerful earth and fire techniques. Trees disappeared under searing red-hot blazes of fire, thick, black smoke rising into the air. The winds howled, steam rose from the cracked and blistered ground and trees disappeared underneath raging infernos.

It was the legacy of the God of Shinobi, the skill-set and sheer power that had made the Third Hokage considered one of the most powerful shinobi of all time.

It was a possible future of the Right Hand of God, a glimpse into what one day could become a legend.

Against Hidan, it was ineffective. The man simply would not die.

Fire burst into existence, fuelled by Naruto's raging chakra. It danced hungrily over Hidan's body, trying in vain to devour the tainted and unholy flesh. But, as quick as the fire consumed the flesh was it put back together, blackened, cracked and steaming- but still whole. Even when combined with a wind technique, the flame was not hot enough to incinerate Hidan before he could recover. Hidan would not be put down with the flame.

Shadow clones burst into existence as Naruto trapped Hidan again with his arsenal of earth techniques. The young ANBU rendered his enemy limbless with, tearing his arms and legs off of his torso with wind-natured chakra. Four clones grabbed a limb each and sprinted as quickly as they could away from the battlefield. But the grasp of whatever power or technique that Hidan was wielding would not be deterred and the limbs were summoned back to their bodies, the shadow clones dragged helplessly behind. He tried decapitating Hidan, but the head also flew back to the body, laughing and cackling all of the way.

The earth rose around Hidan and Naruto entombed him within a solid prison of rock. He layered the technique with earth-natured chakra, strengthening the rock until it was as hard and thick as a castle wall. The prison of stone lasted for a full ten seconds. Then, cracks appeared and, even though Naruto concentrated with all of his might, large slabs fell off of the mound and the construct collapsed as Hidan remerged, looking none worse for wear.

There was always the possibility of drowning him, but Naruto didn't know any water techniques that could produce enough liquid. His briefly entertained the idea of dropping him in some kind of acid- but he lacked any techniques or liquids that he could use. Apart from the two lightning techniques, Naruto didn't know anything that seemed like it could put a dent in the man.

Fire. Wind. Earth. Water. Lightning. All had failed.

Kunai. Shuriken. Explosive Tags. None had worked.

Nonetheless, the time Hidan took recovering from each attack was time spent _not_ attacking Team Kage and Naruto continued the assault, even though he was out of ideas. Hidan's body reformed and stitched back together every time. Naruto tore him to shreds and _something_ forced flesh, blood and bone back into a cohesive whole. The unholy power settled down on the blond ANBU's shoulders, an oppressive, terrible weight that chilled him to the bone, and something in the pit of his stomach prickled uncomfortably.

The battle seemed to be at a stalemate.

Hidan hadn't even landed a single attack on Naruto- he hadn't even taken a step forward. Naruto's devastating barrage of _ninjutsu _had completely and utterly overwhelmed the cultist. Amidst the rumble and roars of the elements, Hidan's laugh could be heard. He laughed, shrieked and praised his god as he was torn apart, seemingly ecstatic at the opportunity to experience such pain and suffering. He cried in pleasure as Naruto tore him apart again and again and again.

Distantly, he was aware of the rest of Team Kage fighting against the rest of the cultists. His fellow ANBU had been roused or dispersed the techniques that had muddied their minds and stilled their bodies. He had almost forgotten about the rest of the enemy but Kage and the rest dealt with them efficiently. Like Hidan, the other cultists reformed after every attack but it seemed slower for them, although they made up for it with their numbers.

Naruto focussed on the leader of the enemy, gritting his teeth and panting as his _tenketsu_ burned. For the third time in the past month, Naruto felt completely useless.

Shinno had decimated them, his regeneration negating all of their damage much like Hidan was. He had been worse than the cultist though, his attack power far higher and deadlier.

Tsunade had crashed through them with ease. Although she was an ally and a shinobi of Konoha, Naruto had no doubts that the member of the Legendary Three could have wiped them out with ease had she truly been an enemy.

Now there was a third, another who seemed impossible to stop. Like Shinno, Hidan simply didn't care about the damage he received- he seemed to welcome it. Like Shinno, Hidan was truly abnormal, his healing and regeneration barely human. He would undoubtedly be classed as _S-Rank_, and Naruto had always known that the Third Hokage was a veritable monster in the arts of battle.

Like Tsunade, like Shinno, like Sarutobi- Hidan was on a completely different level. Was this the power of _S-rank_,to transcend the limits of what was human and what was not?

A part of Naruto wryly acknowledged that it was the same ability that once again had undermined him. When- or if- he got back to Konoha, he would find a way to get around a regeneration-based opponent. Hidan was sent flying as a combination of _Lightning Release: Electromagnetic Murder_ and _Earth Release: Seismic Upheaval_ tore him apart, and it gave Naruto some time to breathe. He was gasping for air, sweat trickling down his face, and his entire body felt hot and sluggish. He struggled to move for a moment, and then realised that the ground beneath his feet and cracked and blistered- the chakra he had been emitting from his _tenketsu_ heating up the soil and hardening it.

How could he defeat Hidan?

His mind raced and again he was struck by the similarity between Hidan and Shinno. Somewhere, in the back of his mind, that dark, forbidden thought rose up. Could he use the power of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox again? But he didn't know how to access it and, during a brief respite, he searched deep within his body to find a glimmer of that strange, dark chakra. All he got was the uncomfortable prickling sensation at the pit of his stomach and nothing else. Naruto briefly entertained the idea of letting Hidan strike him- perhaps a near-lethal blow would set the seal in motion? But he discarded it just as quickly as it had come- it was too risky and there was no guarantee that it would work.

As Hidan was sucked underneath a glowing black river of tar, Naruto panted, his thoughts racing as he desperately tried to think of a strategy or technique that could help him. None came to mind- he lacked information, he always lacked information! Then he paused. Intelligence was an important asset, perhaps the most important, and Naruto couldn't beat Hidan because he didn't know how the cultist's power worked. He made a sign and a shadow clone appeared. It disappeared almost instantly as Naruto turned back to Hidan, forming another sign and beginning his assault on the immortal cultist again.

Naruto's Shadow Clone had been designed to transmit auditory information back to its creator. While the clone itself had all of its senses, Naruto had no need for the visual or tactile stimuli that the clone had experienced. It wasn't a very energetic clone, made with just enough chakra to keep it moving, and it's personality was barely half-formed. Had the clone's mask been off, there would have been no doubt that it was a fake. Nonetheless, it was a skilled fake and avoided a swing from the nearest cultist. It scrambled back on the ground, flipping over a reforming cultist and using its pitiful chakra reserves to dart away.

A second later, Daichi was there and the Hyuuga delivered an expert jab to the back of the Cultists head. The cultist simply collapsed in a heap, frothing at the mouth, allowing Naruto's clone to approach the Hyuuga. The blow to the cultist wasn't going to kill him but it gave Daichi a respite and he turned to the clone expectantly.

"Daichi." The clone's voice was blank and lacked any emotion. "I have been sent to together information. I need to know more about the enemy's power."

"I can't see it," Daichi replied. He reached into his cloak and flung a trio of shuriken at the cultist on the ground, who was beginning to stir. "There's _something_ there, but it's like it's…" he hesitated. "It's like it's in the corner of my eye, but whenever I turn to look at it it's gone."

"I have been sent to together information. I need to know more about the enemy's power." The clone repeated his words in the exact same tone and Daichi sighed.

"I can't see it!" He said, grimacing. He looked like he was struggling with something. "It hurts to look! There's something there and everything inside of me is telling me I _don't_ want to see it."

"I have been sent to together information. I need to know more about the enemy's power." The clone's voice didn't change but it was somehow more insistent.

Daichi shakes his head and takes a deep breath. "Fine," he reluctantly obeyed. "I'll give it another go."

The real Naruto had once again torn Hidan to shreds as Daichi turned his head to watch. There was no indication that the Hyuuga had activated his Byakugan until he began talking, his voice soft, almost monotone.

"It's just like I said- I can't see it. It's a mass of…of…of nothingness," Daichi struggled to explain. "It just surrounds him, infuses with the broken parts and puts it all back together…it…" He was beginning to shake. "It…it takes some of the energy to restore them…there might be less of it? I don't know…I can't tell….but I'm sure that it takes some of whatever-it-is to heal!"

Naruto's clone considered that. "Suggestions?" it asked, almost sardonically- the first traces of emotion appearing.

"Keep beating him up?" Daichi shrugged. "That energy's gotta run out sometime. I guess we'll just have to see what lasts longer- your chakra or his powers."

Naruto's clone nodded. "Thanks," it said.

Daichi ignored it. His voice was lowering, becoming an almost-inaudible whisper. "But there's something there," he breathed. "Something I don't want to see, something in the corner of my eye. If I just _twist_ it like this, I could…" His head cocked and he paused. Then, he jerked back. "I see it!" he whispered furiously. "I see it all- oh, shit! There's…there's a face…I see it_…_Naruto!"

The clone paused as it was about to disperse. "What?" he asked.

"It's…looking at me," Daichi whispered. His head seemed to be frozen. The Hyuuga let out a strange giggle. "It's _looking at me_!"

The all-seeing eyes of the Hyuuga stared into the abyss and something stared back.

The clone was a limited kind, just enough chakra to transmit a set of stimuli back to its creator. In a way, it was almost brain-dead, lacking the emotion and much of the thought patterns of the original. Yet, deep within the limited chakra-based construct, something flinched in worry and the clone hesitantly placed a hand on the frozen Hyuuga's shoulder. Daichi suddenly jerked back as if struck and blood began to ooze from the corners of his mask.

"My eyes!" he moaned piteously.

The clone quickly took off the mask. Daichi was oozing blood from all orifices, his ears, nose, mouth and eyes. He seemed delirious, sweat beading on his forehead. His once pure-white eyes were now shaded grey, dull and lifeless, and the Hyuuga shook. As Daichi began to seize and shudder, Kage was there and the clone took the chance to disperse itself.

* * *

><p>Naruto received the stream of chakra and processed the new sensory stimuli. Daichi had seen Hidan use the strange power to heal himself- but no power was infinite. His path was set- Naruto would kill Hidan and force him to regenerate again and again, until there was no more of the strange power to draw on. The plan was crude but Naruto felt a weight lift off of his shoulders, his doubts fading. There was a strategy now.<p>

A moment later, Hidan emerged from the latest whirlwind of fire. His skin was blackened, cracked, his eyes scorched and oozing and his clothes all gone. Yet, he looked absolutely furious and spittle flew from his cracked lips.

"One does not look upon the face of Lord Jashin!" He screamed. He reached out and his fallen scythe leapt into his hands, strangely undamaged by the techniques that Naruto was employing. "Heathen! Heretic! Blasphemer! You dare?"

Hidan launched the scythe at, away from Naruto and towards where he knew where Daichi was. He channelled chakra into his hands, wind-natured taking form in his sore _tenketsu_, and the scuthe was blown back by a buffet of wind. A second later, Naruto formed a hand sign and tapped the ground with his foot. Rows of sharp, rocky spikes burst form the ground and slammed into the raging cultist. He ignored them all, pinned as he was, and he screamed into the heavens.

"Lord Jashin! The heretic have trespassed in your domain! Bare down your utmost fury and smite them from this world! May the eyes boil and melt of all those who gaze in that which must not be gazed! May the mind break of all those who think of that which should not be thought about! May the ears of those who listen to what should not be listened to deafen and die!"

The words made no sense to Naruto but the chill in the air intensified. Hidan began chuckling, his skin beginning to take back its creamy colour as new eyes formed in his sockets.

"Another!" he shrieked. "Another has gazed upon your work!" He frothed at the mouth. "Show her the Truth! Show her the only truth there is!"

From the other side of the battlefield, Yuuka screamed. Naruto sent a crackling bolt of electricity at Hidan, who convulsed as it splashed across his broad chest. The earth spears were beginning to crack and break apart but the lightning technique kept the cultist occupied for a moment as Naruto turned around, his eyes seeking out his teammate. Yuuka was on her knees, her hands clasping both sides of her head.

"No no no no no no no no no..." she chanted endlessly. "stop it stop it stop it- don't look at me!"

The cultists around the fallen Yamanaka lunged at her but Komachi was suddenly there. She flung a pair of kunai at the first cultist, sending him sprawling backwards, and made a hand sign. The kunai suddenly exploded in a puff of white smoke and loops of wire burst forward, which wrapped around the next two cultists like snakes. Lightning arced through it and the cultists screamed with pleasure as they convulsed.

Hidan roared and for the first time Naruto took a step back as the silver-haired man went on the attack. The stone spikes that had him pinned in the air collapsed and he shrugged off the lethal lightning attack as if it was nothing. His scythe appeared in his hand and he threw it at Naruto with tremendous force. The blond ANBU barely blocked it with a pair of kunai but he successfully parried it, the scythe bouncing back- and then suddenly it went flying past Naruto as Hidan tugged on the rope attached to the handle.

In that split-second, Naruto channelled sharpened wind-natured chakra into his kunai and flung it at the rope. The glow surrounding the kunai spluttered and faded- the metal was not chakra-conductive and Naruto was not skilled enough with wind to compensate- and the kunai bounced off of the thickened rope. At the same time, the scythe lashed out towards Komachi and it almost seemed like it was going to hurt her. But Towa had been watching and he stood between the weapon and his teammate, barely blocking the scythe with a glowing scarlet shield emanating from his right arm. It had not been a perfect block, blood dripped from his arm and his robe was torn, but the scythe rebounded off of the shield and Hidan tugged it back into his hand.

"Perfect!" Hidan howled, the scythe returning to his hand. A splatter of blood decorated the tri-pronged tip of the curious weapon and the cultist's eyes were practically glowing as he bent down at licked Towa's blood off of the weapon. "I was just thinking that Lord Jashin needed a sacrifice."

Before Naruto's eyes, his skin began to turn black. It wasn't from any fire or explosion and Naruto watched with horrified fascination as the man in front of him _changed_. His skin had taken on a deep, unnatural shade of black and something shifted underneath it. Bulges of white pressed up against the flesh and Naruto realised that Hidan's _bones _were tearing out of his body. The power in the air was numbingly cold and the ANBU's breath came out of his mask as a mist.

"Let the ritual begin!" Hidan howled.

Naruto made a move to stop him but before he could the cultist seemed to explode in a shower of blood. It rained from every orifice, every exposed part of the silver-haired man's skin, splattering onto the charred and broken ground in large splotches. Naruto frowned, taking a defensive stance as Hidan staggered around, his feet dragging in the blood and his head bowed.

Had one of his teammates done something?

Then, Hidan's head rose and a maniacally grin had crossed his face. The blood around him was coalescing, Naruto suddenly realised, forming the eerie circular-enclosed triangle that had decorated the factory in Katsura Village. He lunged forward but was intercepted by an acolyte, who swipped at him with a spiked mace. Hidan was laughing as he reached up, a black spear suddenly appearing in his hands. It radiated a sense of foulness truly surpassing anything that Naruto had experienced so far, and as the young ANBU dispatched the acolyte around him, Hidan brought his tip of the spear against his forehead and slowly carved a path through his own head.

Above the screams and howls of the other cultists, Naruto heard Towa let out an audible grunt. He turned his head and saw Towa stagger back, holding his mask. Hidan laughed cruelly and his spear flashed again as the slick-haired man slammed it into the crook of his elbow. Towa shuddered and the bright scarlet weapon he was holding faded. Blood dripped from the sleeve of his cloak and he staggered back, holding the crook of his elbow while delivering a vicious kick to a nearby cultist.

Naruto made the connection almost instantly but there was no time to warn his teammates. His eyes widened as Kage came flying forward, having dispatched the last of his enemies at the moment. The Jonin's blade glinted in the air as Naruto lunged forward.

"Wait!" he cried out.

Kage stilled in his movements, halfway through a devastating blow at Hidan's heart, and Naruto disappeared into the fastest Body Flicker he had ever pulled off. The dull-black blade swished through the air, the momentum too strong for Kage to stop, and it thrust into Hidan's seemingly defenceless body. A sudden howling wind rose up into the air, drowning out the battlefield noises. Hidan's eyes rolled into the back of his skull, his tongue out, a look of absolute pleasure on his face and Kage's blade lodged in his chest.

Behind them, Towa held a hand to his chest. He seemed frozen for a split-second, still not comprehending what was happening, but he pitched forward and fell face-first onto the ground. Towa twitched and then fell still.

Hidan's laughter roared into the night sky.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** **Yo. Long time. So yeah...this has taken a while, but it's been done for longer, mostly because I wasn't very happy with it. In my opinion, Shinno and Hidan were too similar with the regeneration but- frankly, canon Hidan is a pussy, and I wanted to supplement his already natural abilities. Still, I've stopped caring- this is how it's gonna be. Just one more chapter in the arc, hopefully out soon, but who knows with me- and then I can move on. Leave a review with your thoughts. Cheers. **


	18. The Blood Cult: Part V

_ANBU Directive #1: At all times must an ANBU preserve the Will of Fire, ensuring the safety and security of the village of Konoha and her inhabitants, young and old. This supersedes any and all other orders._

* * *

><p>Naruto had failed.<p>

The inhabitants of the Land of Fire had been killed, one after the other, again and again, before his very eyes. The blood of dozens- hundreds- of innocent men, women and children stained the cratered, blackened grounds.

The last civilian, the daughter of the Fire Lord himself, hung limply from a cross, her hands and feet nailed into the wood and her body bound by an unknown sealing technique. Naruto couldn't get her free, and his duty meant that none of them could retreat without her.

And his teammates were wounded and dying.

* * *

><p>There had been six in Team Kage.<p>

Hyuuga Daichi, codenamed Crow-3, who lay on the ground, his short-cropped black hair stained with mud and his once brilliant white eyes dim and grey.

Status: Incapacitated.

Yamanaka Yuuka, codenamed Snake-5, who knelt down in the muck, both hands clasped to the side of her head. Her mouth was moving endlessly, her eyes unfocussed behind her mask.

Status: Incapacitated.

Towa, with a terrible wound gushing from his elbow, a thin trickle of blood leaking from the side of his mask. Towa, who had somehow been linked with the enemy command, a technique that seemly transferred any injuries that Hidan suffered onto himself. Towa, who held a hand to his chest as he toppled face first to the ground.

Status: Incapacitated.

* * *

><p>Now they were three. Komachi had fended off Hidan's cultists for the time being as she guarded the wounded, and Kage stood before Hidan, his dull-black blade punctured through the slick, silver-haired man's chest. Naruto stood next to him, the palm of his hand bleeding as he gripped Kage's blade. For a moment, the two ANBU froze as Hidan shuddered in pleasure. Then, Hidan's face twitched and a look of rage flashed over it.<p>

Naruto was panting as he released his grip on the blade. He had just managed to drag it down at the last second, lowering the thrust from a fatal stab to the heart to a less critical blow to the chest. He thought he had missed most of the vital organs, but it was hard to tell with Hidan, with his blackened skin and abnormally-protruding bones.

Kage's head turned back to Hidan and his body language screamed his sudden understanding of what was happening. The normally-stoic Jonin paused for a fraction of a second, and was almost skewered as a rage-filled Hidan brought his scythe down upon him. Both Naruto and Kage jumped back, narrowly avoiding the attack- Kage's blade remained in Hidan, who looked furious.

"You fuckers!" he growled. His eyes were wild, bloodshot. "Who the fuck do you think you are, interrupting my ritual like that? I'll burn you alive, heretics!"

Naruto glared at him furiously, his chakra surging. His _tenketsu_ were burning, his limbs were strangely light and his tongue felt like he had licked a lightning-release technique. He quickly looked at his captain and saw Kage was suddenly looking unsure, hesitant, even. The ANBU captain's dull-black blade was still lodged in Hidan's body, a wound that had apparently been transferred over to Towa. Hidan's body, his charcoal-black skin and thickened, protruding bones began to contort as he began to revert back to normal, and the bloodied symbol by his feet was shimmering hazily, evaporating into nothingness.

"Jashin will be fed today," Hidan promised.

His tongue came out and he licked his scythe again, lapping at the smear of dull-crimson liquid like a dog lapped at a drink. His skin, which had been fading, grew dark again and his bones surged out unnaturally. Naruto's eyes widened as Hidan's body exploded in a shower of blood once more, the crimson rivets dripping to the ground and forming the eerie symbol of the priest's dark religion.

His thoughts were moving too fast to vocalise them, but his heart leapt as the young ANBU began to draw conclusions on Hidan's ability. His fingers blurred and he spoke to Kage in hand code. _Formation 3-4-10._

Formations threes were offensive- dash four signalled a distraction, and dash ten was the time limit_. _Kage was to provide a quick distraction for no more than ten seconds before retreating, and to his credit, the ANBU captain did exactly that. He darted forward, bashing away a swipe of Hidan's scythe with the back of his metal gauntlets, and breaking through the priests openings. Naruto watched furtively even as he made hand-seals as Kage neatly plucked his blade from out of Hidan's chest, pulling it out without even cutting a hair on the silver-haired man's chest, and used it to block a downward thrust of the deadly spear. The blonde's eyes watched Hidan's footwork as he moulded the last of his chakra and sprinted forward.

As Kage swiped at Hidan's scythe and spear, a frantic dance of sparks and clangs, Naruto darted underneath the captain's furious attack and took a deep breath. Heat surged from the _tenketsu_ in his throat as he infused his saliva with water-elemental chakra, and Naruto spat out water.

_Water Release: Crossing Streams Technique!_

It was wasteful and shoddy, and the water came out in great big goblets instead of a thin, slicing technique- but that was exactly what Naruto had wanted. Fresh, clean water exploded around them and Hidan grunted as it pushed at him. Kage drew back as Naruto held his fingers at his lips, blowing the water onto Hidan and causing the priest to splutter. In effect, it was less of a dangerous technique and more of something you'd use to water your gardens- but it did the job, and Naruto withdrew back to Kage's side.

Hidan shook his head furiously, droplets of water flying through the air. He looked furious, and his body began revert back to normal, Naruto couldn't help the vicious smirk that crossed his face. The water had washed away the markings on the ground, and Naruto had been extra-careful to target Hidan's scythe, washing away the last of Towa's blood. His fingers blurred as he passed on his suspicions to the others.

_Technique requirements – blood of enemy – symbol – changes – avoid injury._

Kage's fingers blurred back. _Defensive formation – prioritise squad health_

Kage and Naruto withdrew, away from Hidan and towards Komachi. Together, the three ANBU took a tri-pronged formation around their fallen comrades. Naruto stood there with the last of his weapons, a handful of shuriken that were squeezed between his fingers, and awaited his orders. His mind was whirring, considering the possibilities of attacking or retreating. He took a deep breath and forced his emotions down, doing his best to calm himself. Attacking was not looking like a favourable option at the moment, yet retreat would ensure the death of the Fire Lord's daughter- and he didn't think that even the Hokage could protect him from the repercussions of that.

In the end, it wasn't his decision and so he waited for orders. Around them, the other priests had pulled themselves together- some of them quite literally- and were yelling and heckling loudly. They swore and cursed and jeered at them as Hidan strode forward, his grin even more manic than it had been before.

"That was a mistake," he said tightly. "Jashin-sama does not like being interrupted like that. He's angry, heathens. He's very angry." He righted his scythe over his shoulders.

None of the ANBU responded. Naruto's heart beat furiously, his eyes flickering to his right to take in Yuuka's motionless form. There had been some rustling from behind him, probably from Towa, but it had stopped and he didn't want to know what that had meant. It was at that moment that Naruto suddenly understood the dilemma of the White Fang all of those years ago. The rise and fall of the S-ranked prodigy of the Hatake family was perhaps the most well-known and debated case study in all of Konoha, and even to this day there hadn't been a single definite conclusion of what the man should have done. He had been caught between a rock and a hard place- just like Team Kage was at that very moment.

Naruto felt his tattoo itch as it activated, and he kept his eyes on the enemy even as he awaited his orders.

Then, one of the acolytes screamed in agony from behind him and he twitched at the unexpected sound. Naruto resisted the urge to look behind him, gripping the shuriken tightly. But then another acolyte screamed. There was a gurgling, tearing noise and Naruto felt the air behind him move. He neatly sidestepped, delivering a fist-full of shuriken onto the oncoming object, and his hands flashed in preparation of a technique- but his tattoo flared and he froze. The object tumbled to the ground, revealing itself to be half a body- or what was left of it.. His or head- for it was hard to tell- skin had completely shrivelled up, wrapping around the skull. Parts of the now brittle skin had torn, revealing bone that looked like it had been bleached white. All that remained of the acolyte was a desiccated corpse.

Hidan was staring over him now, his features marred with his ever-present rage. "Who the fuck are you?" he snarled.

From the corner of his eye, Naruto saw somebody enter the field and he stifled his surprise- he hadn't even felt them coming. Without breaking formation, he waited tensely as the figures moved into his field of view. There were two of them, with long, dark black cloaks marked with red spirals and swirls- almost like clouds. They wore large conical straw hats, blocking their faces from view, but one was a large, burly figure while the other was more slender, barely reaching the other's shoulder.

The two cloaked figures seemed to ignore him, standing amongst the debris and devastation that the fight between the cultists and the ANBU had left. They came off as unconcerned and Naruto resisted the urge to squirm. Something about them set his danger senses off. It was similar to how the Hokage felt at times- he couldn't actually detect anything but there was something lingering around them that set all of his instincts off.

The slender one spoke first, revealing itself to be a female. "Rude," she scoffed hoarsely. Her voice sounded throaty and coarse. "Hurry up. I've got things to do."

Her partner shifted his head to look down at her. In doing so, he revealed a set of bright glowing-green eyes. "Shut up, bitch," he commanded gruffly. "This is more important than your errnads."

The female chuckled without any humour and from what Naruto could glimpse underneath his hat she seemed to be smiling nastily. "I don't like that word," she rebutted darkly. The air around her seemed to shimmer and her partner shifted on his spot, angling his body as if he expected an attack.

"I said shut up," the larger one ordered again. His eyes showed no emotion whatsoever. "I'm sick of your bitching, woman. Don't make me make you be quiet."

The pair seemed oblivious to what was happening around them. Hidan stared at them, agape with disbelief and growing rage, while the acolytes were spreading themselves around them. One of them, a bald, wrinkled and hunched man, gripped a jagged, crude cleaver and launched himself at the pair with a wild whoop.

The woman seemed to twitch and her arm flashed forward. She met the acolyte's charge with a single palm thrust to the face, definitely with enough force to break his nose. But, the moment she touched him the air shimmered around her hazily and the man screamed in pure agony. Before his eyes, Naruto watched as the cultist shrivelled up almost instantly and dropped to the ground with a thud. The woman lowered her hand and seemed to shoot a look at her partner.

"One of these days…" she promised darkly.

"I'm looking forward to it," the burly man said with a quiet, dangerous chuckle.

"Oi! I asked you a fucking question, you heretics!" Hidan screamed maniacally.

"Oh?" the burly figure cocked his head. All Naruto could see were the glowing green eyes from behind his hat as they surveyed Hidan with interest. "Let me ask you a question. Are you the one who murdered Lord Satou and his retinue?"

"What if I am?" Hidan countered. He licked his lips furtively and gave his scythe a swing. "What will you do about it, _bitch_?"

The burly figure chuckled and turned his head to his partner. "That _is_ an annoying name, isn't it?" he said with some humour. The woman was still underneath her straw hat, and the man turned back to Hidan. "If you are, then I'm going to kill you."

Hidan began chuckling as Naruto felt Kage stir.

"Identify." Kage's voice barked out.

The dark-cloaked figures finally seemed to notice them and the biggest one turned to face them. Naruto stared into those glowing green eyes and couldn't help but gulp. There was something lurking within them that made him feel very small and very weak.

"Shut up, worm," the man growled at them. "Know your place. This bounty is mine."

Naruto tensed up, ready to defend in case the other man attacked, but at that moment the acolytes charged at them, hollering and screaming madly. What followed made the ANBU look like a genin. The woman met the charge with hand-to-hand combat. It was a strange style that he hadn't seen before, one that emphasised palm strikes and spinning kicks that almost made it look reminiscent of the _Gentle Fist_. Yet, every palm strike met with the same grisly result and men and women dropped, screaming in agony as their skin shrivelled and dried up on the spot. Within a matter of moments, the woman had taken out the majority of the cultists with a single strike.

Two of them had bypassed her and made their way for the man. One held a giant bastard sword, the other held a mace. The burly man didn't even twitch as something glinted form underneath his cloak, and then suddenly the two men were impaled on some kind of wire. It tore through the cultists like razor sharp wire, digging and diving into them and literally pulling them apart from the seams. Then, almost an instant later, the wires retracted back to the cloak and the splattered remains of the cultists dropped to the ground with a gruesome thud.

In the time that it had taken both of them to dispose of the enemy, Naruto wouldn't have even finished a technique.

Hidan was roaring with laughter now, a high-pitched manic sound that grated on Naruto's nerves. He would have been more annoyed by it, had not the woman of the dark-cloaked pair adjusted her hat. For a split-second, Naruto saw her features- dark hair, bleached bangs and pupils brown eyes. His mind whirred- the devastation of her techniques, her features- and suddenly he knew exactly who was standing in front of him.

Naruto didn't move an inch. He continued breathing normally, focussing on his stance and making sure that he hadn't given anything away. He passed a message onto Kage, breathing quickly, and then tried his best to make sure that they all got out of his alive. He stepped forward, intentionally drawing the attention of the red-swirled cloaked man and woman.

"You are the bounty hunters that the Fire Lord contacted, right?" Naruto asked. The man didn't make a sound but the young blond ANBU got the sense that he was annoyed. He continued on, almost desperately. "You will make the Fire Lord very happy by delivering this man's head, but I know how you can double your reward money."

Now the man's attention was fully upon him and Naruto was glad for his mask as those soulless green eyes bore into him.

"The woman on the hill," Naruto gestured. "She's the Fire Lord's daughter. She's trapped by a sealing technique. Break the technique and we'll take her back to her father. We'll tell the Fire Lord what you did and he'll be sure to reward you for it."

The man gazed down at Naruto for what seemed like an eternity. Then, at long last, he shifted and something like amusement flickered in those odd eyes. Naruto released the breath he hadn't known he was holding as the man chuckled lowly.

"How amusing," he said gruffly. "What a smart little worm you are. Very well, I'll accept your little deal, but…" all amusement fled his tone. "I want triple the amount specified. You will convey this to the Fire Lord."

Naruto nodded quickly.

"You're going to let them go?" The woman sounded faintly amused. "I'd say you're growing a heart, but, well…" she trailed off, perhaps an inside joke that Naruto did not understand. "_He_ doesn't like it when we leave witnesses, though."

"For the amount we'll get, I'm sure _he'll_ put up with it," the man responded. "Besides," he jerked his head at the crucified girl at the top of the mound. "Do you want to carry her back to the capital?"

The woman made an odd noise. "Oi, baby!" she called, gesturing at Naruto. "Come with me."

"Hey, what the fuck do you think-"

Hidan was cut off mid rant as streams of dirty-grey wires tore into him, wrenching him apart by the seams. He formed back together almost as quickly as he was torn apart and the burly bounty hunter seemed to find this amusing. The woman beckoned Naruto again and disappeared in a flash of movement. Naruto eyed Kage, who nodded, and disappeared in a body flicker_._

He reappeared at the top of the mound, by the side of the princess and a respectful distance away from the red and black cloaked bounty hunter. The woman seemed somewhat annoyed as she gazed upon the bloodied and broken form of the princess. Naruto watched her anxiously as she knelt down, her back towards Naruto as if she had nothing to fear (and he knew that she truly didn't). The air around her thickened and shimmered, a hazy aura surrounded her, and a sudden squealing noise filled the air, like metal bending. There was a thud and a splutter and the woman stood up, brushing her hands on her cloak.

"Off you go, baby," the woman said mockingly. "Take your little prize and run away like a good boy."

Her mocking tone did absolutely nothing to Naruto, and he bowed gratefully. He carefully pulled out the nails pinning the princess to the cross and took her in his arms. She was lighter than he expected, and remained motionless and unresponsive as Naruto used the Body Flicker to reappear by Kage's side. Komachi had Towa in her arms while Kage had the still forms of Yuuka and Daichi on either shoulder.

"Now leave," the large, unknown man ordered roughly. He turned his head, even as he tore Hidan apart again, and soulless green eyes bore into Naruto. "And tell the Fire Lord what I've done here. I'm expecting my reward."

Naruto nodded grimly.

"Bye bye, little baby!" the woman called out mockingly.

* * *

><p>The desiccated corpses around them were beginning to pull themselves together in a series of great screams and moans of pain and pleasure. The woman stomped on the face of one as the man hurled Hidan away with his wires, his fingers flexing. That was the last thing Naruto saw before Team Kage blurred away from the clearing, a full retreat in progress.<p>

The trip back to Konoha was a bit of a blur for Naruto. While his chakra reserves were fine- as per usual for a _demon-host _and a member of the Uzumaki Clan- his mind and body were fatigued and exhausted. Team Kage jumped from one tree to another, fleeing the bounty hunters and the cultists as fast as they could in their condition. Each jump bought a flare of pain in Naruto's body, his overworked _tenketsu_ straining to keep up the pace.

Team Kage stopped only once, almost thirty minutes away from the battlefield, to assess the condition of the wounded. Naruto lowered the daughter of the Fire Lord gently down to the ground, and examined her wounds as Komachi and Kage did the same for the remainder of Team Kage. The princess had deep, jagged puncture wounds in her hands and feet, courtesy of the nails that had pinned her to the wooden cross, and there were a series of lacerations on her back, as if she had been whipped. She might have been an attractive girl once, beautiful even, but it was hard to tell with the swelling and bruising around her face. She seemed to have been worked over with some kind of blunt instrument, and her nose was broken, her eye socket puffed up and swollen and several teeth missing from behind her bloodied, chapped lips.

Naruto reached for his medical kit for his bandages. He only carried the basics, but they were enough to carefully wrap the girl's hands, feet and head, and there was a small tube of ointment that he carefully applied to her back before patching it up with gauze. Finally, he jabbed the girl in the arm with a disposable needle and injected her with a small, but potent, dose of painkillers. Some of the tension fled the girl's unconscious form and she seemed to relax in her sleep. Naruto packed up his medical kit and stood up.

Komachi's hands were glowing with a flickering green light and there were a pile of bloodied bandages next to her as she finished her battlefield surgery on Towa. Kage stood next to her, carefully swabbing and wrapping at the great stab wound in Towa's chest. Naruto clenched his fists tightly but hung back, knowing that there really wasn't much he could contribute. Finally, Komachi dropped her head, looking exhausted, and the light faded away. Towa's chest continued to rise up and down, but his skin was pale and clammy, and Naruto could hear a wet rattle with every breath that the other ANBU operative took.

_Summoning Technique!_

With a flare of chakra, and with his _tenketsu_ burning, Naruto summoned a trio of man-sized gorillas. With surprisingly gentle hands, the summons carefully picked up the wounded, and the rest of Team Kage climbed onto their backs. Then they were off again, and Naruto rested his head upon the soft, furry back of his summons and rested his eyes for a moment. The wind rushed in his hair and the birds chirped around them, the sun beating down on their forms. All in all, it was a beautiful day.

It took hours to reach Konoha and the sun was beginning to set. Komachi, Kage and Naruto had taken turns in taking point. At some point, the group had rendezvoused with a patrolling ANBU Squad and his tattoo flared up as Kage had delivered priority-one orders. They didn't slow down at all and, now with an escort, the ape summons bounded through the trees and approached the walls of Konoha. Naruto was alert and somewhat rested as the ANBU darted past the main gates and dropped onto the ground.

And then they were surrounded.

An entire platoon of white-masked ANBU descended upon them, warned beforehand of their impending arrival. They formed a perimeter, taking spots on top of buildings and around Team Sigma. ANBU Medical Crew "Upsilon" approached them, and Naruto carefully passed over the Fire Lord's daughter. Four of the medical crew disappeared as soon as they had her, taking at least half of the ANBU with them. The rest converged on Towa, Daichi and Yuuka. Naruto spotted three of them above Towa, hands and palms glowing green as they attended him. The rest were examining Yuuka and Daichi, making preparations to move out.

He was exhausted and tired, both mentally and physically, and Naruto collapsed to the ground. The stone was cool to the touch and he gazed up at the horizon, watching as the sun set while the ANBU scurried all around him. They broke ranks as a trio of Hyuuga, led by Clan Head Hiashi, arrived to take Daichi. Moments later, Yamanaka Inoichi had arrived, looking grim, and he directed the ANBU to take Yuuka to the Yamanaka-run Mental Health Ward.

There was a hand on his shoulder and Naruto jerked, looking up.

"Come," Kage ordered, not unkindly. "We need to debrief."

Naruto steeled himself and nodded.

* * *

><p>The sun had gone down by the time the debrief was over and Konoha twinkled in the night. After a quick shower, Naruto had changed and stood as still as a statue behind the Hokage right shoulder, who sat at his desk. Sarutobi's eyes were closed and he rested his chin upon his wrinkled hands. Standing at the Hokage's left was the captain of ANBU's Alpha Platoon, Kitsune, and lining the perimeter of the office was Konoha's most elite ANBU teams, Alpha Teams 1 &amp; 2, while the rest of the platoon had taken position outside. The atmosphere of the Hokage's office was tense, but Naruto was barely aware of it. All he wanted to do was sleep.<p>

The door opened and the Fire Lord strode in, flanked by three of the Twelve Guardians. Sarutobi opened his eyes and watched stonily as the Fire Lord came and took a seat beside him, the members of the Twelve Guardians taking point behind him.

They waited, and five- maybe ten- minutes passed. Then the doors opened again and a small contingent of ANBU strode in, escorting their visitor. The tall, thin and pasty man surveyed the room with his pinkish-red eyes, and Naruto could see him somewhat tense. The man ran a hand through his lank, white hair.

"Good evening, Hokage-sama, Daimyso-sama," he greeted nervously, in a thin reedy voice.

The Hokage and the Fire Lord were silent and Naruto stirred.

"Sit down, Ambassador Basho," he ordered quietly.

Basho smiled nervously. "I don't understand-" he began.

"Sit. Down." Naruto's voice dripped with ice.

Basho took a deep breath and silently took the proffered seat. He tugged at his formal robes, loosening the colour and drawing himself up.

"Ambassador," the Hokage's voice was quiet but no less firm for it. "Are you aware of the events that have occurred within Fire Country in the past twenty-four hours?"

Basho cocked his head in thought. "I am not, Hokage-sama," he answered neutrally.

"Within the past week, Fire Country has come under attack," Sarutobi continued. "There has been much loss of life, civilian and shinobi. Entire villages have been ravaged. The Fire Lord's own daughter was captured and tortured."

The Hokage fell silent and the Ambassador cleared his throat.

"Daimyo-sama, you have my sincerest sympathies," Basho offered firmly. "Please, if there is anything that my people can do then please let us know."

The Fire Lord stayed quiet, content to idly fan himself, and Sarutobi spoke up again.

"There is one thing you could provide for us," Sarutobi murmured. He took his chin off of his hands and straightened his shoulders. "You could tell us why you attacked us, and perhaps offer a reason why we should not destroy you."

Basho's face tightened. "I'm afraid I don't understand," he said quietly. "The Land of Hot Springs has not attacked, nor have plans to attack, the Land of Fire."

"On the contrary," Sarutobi's voice was light, "you already have."

He picked up a folder and carelessly slid it over the table. Basho picked it up and opened it up. Almost immediately, his face flushed and his mouth parted open in shock and dismay. As the ambassador surveyed the photos and action reports, the Hokage continued.

"The Cult of Jashin," he declared, and the name reverberated through the room. Naruto repressed a shudder. "It's a religion that began in the heart of the Land of Frost. Innocuous at first, it spread to the Land of Hot Springs almost fifteen years ago, and your Lord was seduced by the power and possibilities that it offered. Your Hidden Village adopted it as your official doctrine and within a year the religion had almost ten thousand conscripts. Men and women came from all fields of life to join your Village." He smiled thinly. "At one point you had an army to rival that of one of the Great Five."

Basho was trembling, pale and shaky.

"But then the true nature of Jashinism's depravities came to light when your forces invaded the Land of Frost," Sarutobi continued. "Your Hidden Village declared war and attacked. The cult let a crusade against the Land of Frost, massacring anybody who came in their path, right up to the capital."

"Indeed," Basho said quietly. He closed the folder and placed it on the desk. "It's a terrible stain on our history, a time where reason and logic were displaced for brutal fanaticism. Had the Third Raikage not intervened…"

"He took down ten thousand of your people to secure the capital of the Land of Frost, at the cost of his own life," Sarutobi murmured. "Before he died, he blunted the spear of your attack and sent your forces scattering. The Land of Lightning was quick to hunt down and destroy this cult, and I honestly believed that they had been successful. Alas, it seems that the Land of Hot Springs has begun a second crusade."

"A crusade against us," the Fire Lord broke in, his thin, reedy voice rather light. His face was mostly hidden by his fan.

"No," Basho shook his head empathetically. "Never."

"A member of your former Hidden Village, a spokesperson of your once-national religion, has shed the blood on our lands," Sarutobi thundered. His voice rose, and the windows shuddered. Naruto and Kitsune were motionless behind him and Basho trembled, eyes frantically darting around to the ANBU that surrounded the office.

"I assure you, we made no such plans-"

"But you knew they were coming," the Fire Lord declared. It was not a question, and he laughed rather hollowly. "Oh yes, you knew they were coming."

"Why else would you petition us to place a garrison along your borders?" the Hokage asked. He leaned back in his chair, and eyed Basho stonily. "What is happening in your lands?"

Basho took a deep breath. "There has been a resurgence of the cult in recent months," he admitted quietly. "It's all under control," he quickly added. "We are working on supressing it as I speak."

"Under control?" The Fire Lord repeated, and giggled. He fanned himself even harder than ever. "Oh yes, under control indeed."

The Third Hokage merely gave a pointed look at the manilla folder on his desk, and Basho exhaled noisily. He rubbed his eyes, shaking his head loosely.

"At the present time, however, I am happy to inform you that Konoha will take your mission request," Sarutobi continued. "Kitsune!"

Basho jerked as if struck, and Kitsune took a step forward.

"Ambassador, meet Kitsune," Sarutobi introduced rather pleasantly. "Kitsune is the esteemed captain of Konoha's Combat Platoon Alpha. He will be your contact for the duration of this mission."

"I'm afraid I don't understand," Basho murmured.

"As per your request, we will be reinforcing the border between our lands with a garrison of our shinobi," the Hokage elaborated. "And Kitsune here will lead a platoon of our finest ANBU into your lands to root out the remnants of this little cult. We will find them, Ambassador, and we will _end them_."

"You…you can't…"

A sudden crack blasted through the room and Basho jerked. His frantic eyes darted about until they came to rest upon the Fire Lord, who held the two parts of his broken fan in his hands. Very gingerly, the Fire Lord placed the broken parts on the Hokage's desk, reached into his robes and pulled out another fan. He snapped it open and began waving himself again. Basho sagged, as if defeated.

"Kitsune," Sarutobi ordered quietly. "You will deploy your squadron tonight and take your men into the heart of the Land of Hot Springs. Your will root out members of the Cult of Jashin from all corners of that land. Any man, women and child associated with the cult are to be exterminated. Those who give shelter to the cult and allow them to commit their vile deeds are to be made examples of. Those who hinder your work are to be dealt with."

The Hokage's eyes grew flinty and his voice lowered until it was barely a whisper.

"You are authorised, if needed, to implement a _scorched earth_ policy if needed."

"Understood," Kitsune's voice was cool and collected. It was almost impossible to determine the man's age from underneath his mask.

"Kumo…Kumo will not take this lightly," Basho tried to warn. "They will see it as an attempt to annex one of their border countries…they…"

"I will speak to the Lightning Lord," the Fire Lord waved it off. He stood up, brushing his hands on his robes. "You'll have to excuse me now- my daughter is gravely hurt, and I wish to be by her side."

Basho clambered out of his seat, while the Hokage rose more smoothly. They bowed towards the Fire Lord as he left, the members of the Twelve Guardians trailing behind him. A few moments later, Basho also left a few moments later, staggering out as if had taken a blow to the head. The office descended into silence as Sarutobi stared into the flickering fireplace. Then, he snapped his fingers.

"Dismissed."

The ANBU operatives within the room disappeared in a blur of movement, leaving Sarutobi and Naruto alone. Naruto stood there silently as the Hokage shuffled some papers. He picked up a fountain pen, signed his name and rolled one of the papers into a scroll. After tying it with a blue ribbon, the Hokage placed it in one of the trays on his desk and sighed. The sound echoed in the room.

"Naruto," Sarutobi said wearily. "Please, sit."

Naruto obeyed, taking a seat on the other side of the table.

"Let us talk," the Hokage murmured.

Naruto nodded and took his mask off. Although there was no difference in his line of vision, Naruto felt strangely exposed. The light of the flickering fireplace seemed harsh on his eyes, and he yearned for the shadows of anonymity once again, where nobody could see what he was feeling. Sarutobi observed him for a few moments and sighed.

"You've seen some hard things," Sarutobi murmured.

It wasn't a question, so Naruto didn't answer.

"You've just experienced the darkness of this world," Sarutobi continued quietly. "While the formation of the Five Great Villages has imposed some semblance of order on these lands, there are still horrors from the age of the Clan Wars, and even from the time of the Great Samurai Wars, that linger within this world."

"Yes, sir," Naruto said when it was apparent that the Hokage wouldn't speak. The young ANBU's voice was rather dull.

Sarutobi eyes him with something akin to sympathy. "Be careful, Naruto," he cautioned quietly. "Those who cling to their masks for too long find themselves unable to take them off."

"Yes, sir," Naruto acknowledged quietly. He took a deep breath, and tried to bring up his feelings, but the pain and anguish bubbled to the surface and threatened to overwhelm him, and he quickly shoved it all back down again.

"It will take time, and you will have time to recover," the Hokage said quietly. He steepled his fingers together. "Now, tell me more about these mercenaries."

Naruto gave a clinical description of the appearance and abilities of the bounty hunters that had worn those black cloaks and red, puffy emblems. The Hokage nodded, making noises in the back of his throat.

"Elaborate on the Code 2A- in your report," Sarutobi said after a few moments. "What information was so sensitive that I had to hide it from the Fire Lord himself?"

"During the fight, one of the mercenary's hats slipped and I got a glimpse of her," Naruto elaborated quietly. "It was only a quick look, but her abilities match her appearance. I think the woman was The Mummy."

Sarutobi exhaled rather noisily.

"The Mummy," he murmured. "The S-ranked Missing Nin from the Village Hidden in Sand, Pakura of the Scorch Release? Are you sure?"

"Yes, sir," Naruto answered stiffly.

"This complicates things," Sarutobi murmured. "The Wind Lord would not take the hiring of one of their most infamous traitors lightly. What has the Fire Lord done?"

"Sir," Naruto hesitated. He wondered if it was any of his business, but the sight of those cloaks had stirred something within him. "What do we know about this mercenary group?"

"Only that the Earth Lord has previously referred their services to the Fire Lord on past occasions," Sarutobi answered. There was technically no need for Naruto to receive this information, but the Hokage seemed to have no problem in revealing what he knew. "They provide shinobi services at very good rates, and they have an excellent mission completion history."

"What are they called?"

Sarutobi eyed Naruto. "I believe they refer to themselves as the Akatsuki."

The moon was suspended in the night sky, the stars twinkling behind it as they bathed a soft, pale light upon the lands. Deep within the forests of the Land of Fire, a bloodied mess was thrown to the ground with a loud thud. A dark figure loomed over it, wearing a black cloak, decorated with red swirling patterns. Two pale, glowing green eyes peered down upon the mangled mess that twitched and quivered on the ground.

Trailing behind the man were three odd apparitions, swirling masses of black and grey wires and threads held together by a ceramic masks, almost reminiscent of what the various ANBU organisations wore. They floated around the figure, ignoring their two fallen counterparts, which had been scattered over the battlefield in a spray of debris and cracked, white shards. Behind them, the woman, Pakura of the Scorch Release, idly kicked a corpse and watched dispassionately as flesh and bone flash-burned, shrivelling and becoming brittle.

The lead figure, Kakuzu, held a ring to his forehead and appeared to be concentrating. Then, he lowered his hand and regarded the gasping, heaving remains of Hidan impassively.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I'm not too happy with this, and it took ages to finish, but here it is. The bloody arc is over, and now I just want to move on. Lemme know what you think.  
><strong>


	19. Moving On

**A/N: I seem to have a lot of fun going through the 'routine' of what would be a mercenary-based profession, the normal, and possibly bland stuff that happens behind the scenes, but would be necessary to run a Hidden Village. Hopefully it's as interesting to read as it is to write. I'm also having fun exploring Sasuke as a character, trying to do away with the cliched 'Uchiha superiority' and all that.  
><strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 19<strong>

* * *

><p>The aftermath of Team Kage's encounter with the Hidan and the Cult of Jashin was felt by many in Konoha. The Fire Lord had been understandably upset with the events that had occurred, especially given that his own flesh and blood had been harmed within the very borders of the Land of Fire. Almost overnight, an entire division of shinobi, most who had been on reconstruction duty, had departed from the village. They headed north-east, towards the border of the Land of Hot Springs. This halted the rebuilding efforts of the village for about a week, until companies from all across the Land of Fire were withdrawn back into the village.<p>

With one division securing the wreckage of the Sky Country fleet and a division securing the north-western border and the customary division of shinobi, the forces of Konoha were spread thin throughout the Land of Fire. Konoha's Intelligence Department were completely overworked, desperately feeding misinformation and blocking espionage attempts almost daily. It didn't help that, almost overnight, Konoha's Alpha Platoon and its twenty-five members, led by Kitsune, had vanished on their long-term _S-rank_ assignment. Reserves had been activated and shinobi had been called from retirement

Despite the pressing need for all of Konoha's personnel to be on active duty, Naruto found himself on administrative leave for an entire week. It was something that he accepted gratefully. Although he didn't want to admit it to anybody, he had had trouble sleeping ever since the mission. Late at night, every time he closed his eyes all he could see were the panicked faces of the men, women and children he had failed to save. Above them loomed Hidan, his manic and crazed expression stirring something horrible within him. His nights were spent tossing and turning, his days were spent cracking open the cover to the deep well of emotions that he had suppressed. Naruto had taken to his emotional conditioning well- but perhaps too well. He had always had the capacity to _feel_, but during the course of missions and assignments he knew of the necessity to be a blank slate. Those emotions didn't just disappear into nothingness. Naruto did the mental equivalent of shoving them in the cupboard and closing the door, and there always came a time where he had to confront them.

He had done so after the Blitz, but this occasion was worse. There had been some yells of frustration, many tears and a lot of despondent thoughts. He had trashed his room in a fit of rage at one point. Naruto wasn't quite sure what the Hokage and Konohamaru had thought about it, but the neither of them gave any indication of having heard anything. Konohamaru remained oblivious to anything that wasn't in his little world of concerns, and the Hokage seemed content to let Naruto work things out on his own.

At the end of the week, Naruto had calmed down a lot and was ready to take on some light duties. When the Hokage and Konohamaru had come down for breakfast, they had been greeted by four Narutos, three scrubbing down the kitchen as the fourth hastily attempted to make a meal for them. As usual, the Hokage's Residence was an absolute mess and Naruto took comfort in the familiar work as he went through it from top to bottom. It kept him from thinking too hard.

It kept him from thinking about Yuuka, who was still in the care of the Yamanaka as they pieced together her fractured psyche.

It kept him from thinking about Towa, who had undergone emergency surgery for forty-straight hours. It had only been the intervention of Tsunade herself that had kept the man from dying.

It kept him from thinking about Daichi, who had been whisked behind the walls of the Hyuuga compound. Nobody knew the _Byakugan_ like the Hyuuga, and they had assured the Hokage that Daichi could be healed.

At the present moment, Naruto had taken on some light administrative duties at the Mission Assignment Office. He wore a simple pair of black paints and a bright yellow shirt, a crimson Uzumaki spiral adorning the front. The office was quite frantic at the moment, and Naruto was completely in his element.

"Right, send these down to the Archives," Naruto ordered a Chunin messenger.

The messenger, wearing the sash of the Communications Department, nodded as he took the proffered papers and disappeared in a near-perfect Body Flicker Technique. What members of the Communications Department lacked in combat ability, they made it for it in speed. Naruto turned around, frowning as he considered the pile of papers on his desk. Around him, a squad of Chunin, led by a Jonin, appeared and Naruto looked up.

"Team Yuna," he called out.

The female Jonin, a rather pretty woman in her thirties with purple eyes and long silver hair, sauntered over. She wore a modified flak vest, which seemed to expose more cleavage than what was probably necessary, and a long bang covered one of her eyes. She carried a large, coiled whip on her back and wore a pair of spiked gauntlets.

"Ferret!" the Jonin called out. She grinned. "They have you back on paperwork duty, do they?"

Naruto nodded. "I like it," he told her honestly as the rest of her squad caught up. The three _chunin _were all young males in their early twenties, and each wore a different coloured bandanna on their heads. Naruto's lips twitched. Yuna was a talented Jonin, easily deserving her A-rank, but she was completely hopeless with names. When Yuna had been assigned a genin squad, when Naruto had just been two years old, she had never been able to remember the names of her genin. Instead, she had colour-coded them, which they still wore to this day.

Naruto still didn't know their names.

"How's the brother, Blue?" Naruto asked as he flicked through the pile of papers in front of him.

"Out with a busted leg, Ferret-sama," the man wearing the blue bandanna drawled. He rolled his eyes. "Took a kunai to the knee-cap in training and earned three days medical leave."

"Ouch," Naruto uttered with a sympathetic smile.

"Don't let him fool you," the man with the green bandanna said. "Blue was the one who had thrown the kunai."

The man with the red bandanna snickered, idly fiddling with a crimson thread that poked out of his vest. He pulled it out, revealing a senbon that span on a bit of wire, and neatly twirled it in his hands.

"I was just helping out his training," Blue protested. He looked flushed, embarrassed. "I thought he was faster than he really was."

"Well," Naruto interjected before a fight could start. "Here we are, Yuna. A B-ranked mission all the way to Bird Country. You're off to the Manufactorium."

"The weapons factory?" Yuna arched an eyebrow as she took the scroll. She grimaced. "Is it time for the negotiations again?"

Naruto nodded. "You'll meet with the factory's sales representative in a week. Accommodation has already been supplied, and you can pick up your expense budget at the armoury."

Yuna nodded with a grimace, idly rubbing her elbow. Naruto knew she wasn't too happy. The Manufactorium was perhaps the largest weapons factory in the Elemental Continent, the size of a Hidden Village nestled in between four mountains. They produced vast quantities of weapons, from kunai to siege equipment, at prices far superior to anything locally made. Every three years, the Land of Birds would host a summit and representatives from all over the elemental countries would come and bid on an exclusive contract. The last time, the Land of Earth had won it, and the higher-ups were determined not to led Iwa possess the contract for another three years.

"Have fun!" Naruto called out as Team Yuna departed. "And, please, don't go through the Land of Rain. You really don't want to run into the Salamander."

"Yeah, yeah," Yuna called out. She waved over her shoulder and led her team out of the Mission Assignment Office.

Naruto turned back to his papers and began reviewing them again. Voices rose and fell around him, and he briefly looked up as one of the Chunin behind the desk was yelled at by a red-faced, rather portly man. A moment later, a stern-looking man dressed in a Jonin flak jacket appeared and led the aggrieved client away. Naruto looked down again, signed the papers and snapped his fingers. A messenger appeared, and he handed them a report from Wave Country

"Department of Foreign Affairs, please," he instructed politely.

The messenger disappeared in a flash of movement, and Naruto sighed. He adjusted his work and was ready to get into it when a shadow fell across his desk. He looked up, and saw three Jonin standing in front of him. They all wore flak-jackets, and his eyes travelled to the insignia patched on the collar.

"Oh," he uttered in understand. "Hang on…"

Naruto stood up and made his way through the office to the payment desk. The chunin on duty nodded respectfully as Naruto came around and knelt down. On top of the payment desk was a slot, where money would be deposited after a successful payment. It let do a strong-box just by the Chunins feat, a thick, solid metal container that could take a Grade-1 explosive note and come out untouched. Naruto inspected the box for a second, and then pressed the button. With a groan of movement, the box lifted and a wooden paling slide away, allowing it to rise up to the desk.

"Signature, please," the lead Jonin said as Naruto rose to his feet.

The member of the Treasury handed Naruto a clipboard, and Naruto quickly scrawled his name and identification number down. Then, he bit his thumb and pressed the digit down on the paper. It shuddered, and at the top left corner a green little dot appeared. The Jonin did the same and the same green dot appeared in the top right hand corner. Naruto nodded and stood back as the Jonin hefted the heavy box and disappeared in a Body Flicker.

Naruto made his way back to his desk and finished the last of his paperwork. Most of them were mission reports from successfully completed missions. There were additional scrolls, bound by blue twine, that signified action reports- that is, reports from missions where the shinobi had encountered combat. They were sent straight to the Intelligence Department, where a team of smarter people than Naruto would sift through them. More often than not, they were as straightforward as they seemed, but often they provided some insight into other issues. For example, an encounter with a criminal gang in Waterfall Country might signify that the crime rate was increasing, which could explain an increase in the presence of Iwa shinobi in the region if the natives had been hiring them for policing duties.

All that was left of his work was a scroll bound together with a black-thread. Naruto frowned, and picked it up. He didn't open it- it would have been a good way to get his hand blown off. It was time to sign off, anyway, so he may as well take the S-ranked report down to Intelligence.

* * *

><p>Naruto appeared in a Body Flicker in a long, shadowed hallway. He felt his tattoo pulse for a moment and he confirmed his identity with the ANBU Platoon on guard rotation. From the look of it, it was Epsilon Platoon, led by Dog. He strolled past the guards and reached the door at the end. Opening it, Naruto stepped in and entered a vast chamber. Konoha's Department of Intelligence and Counterintelligence was located next to ANBU HQ underneath the Hokage's Residence, and was highly guarded. This department dealt with matters related to national security, espionage and- if necessary- war. Railing and pathways had been bolted into the rock that surrounded the chamber, and in the middle of the room was a pit. A large scale model of the elemental countries had been built, and it stretched out encompass the entire room. Wires were suspended across it and Naruto saw two shinobi hanging upside down as the adjusted a series of figurines on the model.<p>

With this model, and a proper flow from the Communications Department, Intelligence was able to provide a realistic model of current troop deployments for all of the Elemental Countries- and not just those from Konoha. As the shinobi hanging from the wires moved up a set of figurines, which represented a division, closer to the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Hot Springs, he also saw a similar massing from Kumo on the border of the Land of Lightning and the Land of Frost. Most of the figurines represented shinobi's in the dozens, if not hundreds or thousands, but Naruto caught a glimpse of a unique figurine made in the image of a cat. The demon-host of the Two-Tailed Demon Cat had also been posted to the border.

Naruto strode past the model and jumped up to one of the railings on the other side of the room. He opened the door, nodding respectfully to the guard, and entered the office of Nara Shikaku, the Jonin Commander. Shikaku's scarred visage glanced up at him.

"Sir," Naruto greeted.

"Uzumaki," Shikaku said with a yawn. His sharp eyes had already spotted the scroll, and he looked depressed. "More work?" he sighed.

Naruto nodded and passed over the S-ranked scroll off to him. Shikaku took it with a grimace and waved Naruto away. Naruto was quite happy to leave, and as it made his way outside he looked up at the sun. It was that time of the day again- time to visit the hospital.

* * *

><p>Konoha's Hospital was located in Sector 3, quite close to Konoha's Research and Development Department, and had been classified as a high priority location. There were several smaller clinics, and even another hospital all the way over in Sector 21, that was for more general use. The main hospital was mostly used for the shinobi population of the village, those who had been wounded in the course of duty. With the prevalence of bloodlines and the sheer wealth of genetic material available, it was necessary to keep a constant guard at the hospital. Since the Blitz and the raising of the alert level, the guard had tightened to the point that, depending on which ward a shinobi was in, even relatives weren't able to visit.<p>

Luckily, Naruto had all the necessary security protocols to go wherever he pleased. It was given to him as his role as the Hokage's personal aide, even when it hadn't been absolutely necessary. He recalled an incident where Naruto had supposed to deliver a package to Intelligence, and he been rebuffed- forcing the Hokage himself to get off his lazy bum and do the work himself. The blonde ANBU supressed a smile and he walked inside the hospital, basking in the cool air. The best way to get anything done was to make the old man do it first, and then offer to do it yourself regardless of what permissions and dispensations you needed. Technically speaking, Naruto almost had full access to every department, and could have practically ran the village if he wanted to.

"Yo, Ferret," a Jonin called out as Naruto walked into the stark-white hallways towards his destination.

"Hey, Riku," greeted Naruto politely. The Jonin had his head completely wrapped up, and a cheerful brown eye peeked out from behind his bandages. "What's with your head?"

"Sky Nin explosive," Riku responded cheerfully. He shrugged lazily. "Shrapnel took out my eye. They think they might be able to repair it, especially now that Tsunade is here."

"Oh, well, good luck," Naruto said sincerely.

"Thanks."

The hallways and corridors of the hospital were deceptively confusing, and Naruto was certain that there was some kind of illusionary or sealing technique embedded in the walls. Unless you knew where you were going, it was quite possible to keep wandering the hallways until you were picked up by a security patrol. Naruto navigated his way out of the labyrinth, and he ran into perhaps the one person he didn't want to see.

"Oh, it's you," Tsunade said. Her eyebrows arched as she lowered a file in her hand, passing it over to one of the many white-cloaked figures surrounding her. She waved them away and something glinted in her eyes as she turned to face him. "How are you, brat?"

"I'm fine, Tsunade-sama," Naruto answered stiffly. He found that his shoulders had straightened and he clenched his fists. The last time he had seen this woman…

"Well that's just great," Tsunade declared rather unconvincingly. She gave him a bland smile. "I was just finishing up with your friends. Are you here to visit?"

Naruto nodded.

"I don't want to hear any loud noises if you go and see that Yamanaka girl," Tsunade told him strictly. "Keep your voice down to a whisper and don't surprise her- she's finally starting to show a constant measure of coherence and I don't want you stuffing it up."

"Yes, Tsunade-sama."

"And keep your hands to yourself when you're visiting Towa," Tsunade frowned in irritation over some kind of memory. "Honestly, the man had lacerations and stab wounds all over him, and that woman decided that strangling him was the best idea…"

Naruto winced. He had an idea of who exactly Tsunade was talking about. Komachi and Towa had an _interesting_ relationship. "Yes, ma'am," he replied dutifully.

Tsunade smirked at his obedience. She reached over and mussed his hair, much to his annoyance. "You're a good little boy, aren't you?" she cooed.

Naruto gritted his teeth and bore. The S-rank legend, who Naruto ironically discovered was known for holding a grudge, alternated between treating him like a piece of scum she had found on her shoes or a helpless, little boy. Both attitudes kind of pissed him off, but the memory of his smack-down was enough to make him hold his tongue. It was to his surprise that Tsunade kept her hand on his head, her face smoothing over.

"I remember the Cult of Jashin," Tsunade said suddenly. Her face was impossible to read. "I'd left by then, but there was a bit of a stir when they came out of the woodwork, especially when they were able to take down one of the Kage- even if it was ten-thousand to one. Even I had trouble against the Third Raikage during the Second War…"

She trailed off, lost in memories, while Naruto started in surprise. The Third Raikage was said to be the most powerful Kage that Kumo had ever had, the one known as the sharpest spear and the strongest shield. A battle between a man of that calibre, and the _Sannin_ deemed as the strongest close-combat specialist in the history of the Village Hidden in Leaves- well, that was one he would have paid to see.

"Anyway," she cleared her throat and mussed his hair again. "Good work, kid."

"Oh," Naruto almost stuttered and his cheeks suddenly felt a little warm. "Um, thank you?"

Tsunade stared at him for a moment and her eyes flashed with something. She occasionally did that when he saw her, as if seemingly random cues were prompting old memories to the surface. Something flickered over her face and she sighed, settling with a soft smile.

"You are such a brat," she sighed. "Just stay away from that cult, okay?"

If Naruto didn't know any better, she sounded rather concerned.

"Alpha Squadron has been assigned to the problem," he told her. "Kitsune will take care of it."

"Ah, Kitsune," she savoured the name. "I've heard a lot about him. A lot of the Jonin think he's going to be a tie-in for the Hokage position one day. There are a lot of rumours that say he's close to reaching _S-rank_. I wonder who he is?"

"You don't know?" Naruto asked in surprise.

Tsunade smiled thinly. "I'm not exactly kept in the loop," she said with a tad of bitterness.

To be fair, Naruto thought, it wasn't as if she had proved to be totally reliable. Something must have shown on his face and Tsunade's smile was suddenly strained. Her eye twitched and Naruto gulped.

"I reckon it's almost time for another check-up," she practically purred, and the young elite ANBU agent- who had taken on two hostile S-rank opponents within a month of each other- backed away.

"Tsunade-sama!" somebody called from the other end of the hallway.

Naruto acted when Tsunade had turned her head and promptly disappeared in a lightning-quick Body Flicker. He appeared a few hallways away, and let out a mournful sigh. After the events with the Cult of Jashin, Tsunade had made it her personal business to attend to him as his medic. The experience had been… unpleasant, and Naruto never _ever_ wanted to suffer through one of her examinations again.

There were times where he thought Tsunade was warming up to him. Then, there were times when he was convinced that she was absolutely pissed at him. As he felt the necklace of the First Hokage bounce on his chest underneath his shirt, he had to admit that at least she had a good reason.

Naruto made his way through the ward, passing medic-nins and other visitors, until he came to a door at the end. Plastering a smile on his face, he turned the knob and walked in.

"…you cheating bitch!"

"You petty little arsehole!"

"Ah…" Naruto uttered and two pairs of furious eyes swept towards him.

Towa leaned back on his bed, his chest and arms bandaged up. Komachi sat on his lap, arms reaching down as she bunched up the scruff of Towa's gown. Their faces were crimson and flushed, full of emotion, and they were practically touching. In between them and scattered all over the floor was what seemed to be a deck of cards.

"Hi," Naruto said after a few moments. He cleared his throat awkwardly, while Towa and Komachi practically froze in embarrassment. "I'll just…go."

"Captain!" Komachi and Towa both wailed.

Naruto quickly shut the door, leaving the two ANBU operatives to themselves.

Towa's eyes met Komachi's, who palmed her face and echoed the sentiments they were both feeling.

"Shit."

A few minutes later, Naruto was still shaking his head wondrously at what he had just seen. Komachi and Towa were skilled shinobi, Naruto would never claim otherwise, but in his honest opinion the two were freaking crazy. Still, he couldn't help the smile that crossed his face, and it stayed there as he went to visit the next room.

"Hey, Yuuka," Naruto greeted quietly as he entered the room.

Yuuka lay back on her bed, her blonde hair unbound and spilled out around her. She looked up at him owlishly, and a tired smile and an expression of pleasure crossed her face.

"Yo, Cap'n," she answered drowsily.

"Feeling better?" Naruto asked, and he took a set by her bed.

Yuuka nodded. "Still tired," she yawned. "They got me on these med thingies to help my mind…not explode."

"Not explode?" Naruto repeated.

"They used fancier words," Yuuka admitted. "But it's basically that." She touched her head. "Brain almost went boom. Things are still a little hazy- they had to get creative and I'm pretty sure they've burned out a few neural pathways. They say I can still be a shinobi, though."

Naruto beamed. "That's good," he said sincerely.

"Yep," she replied. Her eyes blinked rapidly, as if she was trying to ward of sleep. "We can still working together, Cap'n Cutie and his blonde hottie."

Naruto grinned, and then she reached out and touched his hand.

"Cap'n?" she asked, her smile fading away.

"Yeah?"

Yuuka didn't reply, and Naruto waited until it appeared that she had fallen asleep. He carefully placed her hand back on the bed and stood up. As he stared down at her, he felt a surge of emotion. His chest tightened and once again he felt a great sense of relief and respite. Despite all of their injuries, despite everything that had happened- his team was okay.

* * *

><p>Naruto left the hospital in a much better mood, which was why he didn't immediately react when he bumped into Hatake Kakashi. The tall, lanky silver-haired man stood in the middle of the road, heedless of the men and women that walked past him. His one visible eye gave off a distinct impression of boredom, and he seemed extremely interested in the little orange book that he held in his hand. At first glance, the Jonin came off as extremely languid and unconcerned. However, while Naruto had never seen the man in live combat, he had had the opportunity to witness Kakashi's prowess during ANBU Team Exercises, and, from what he had seen, the silver-haired man had definitely earned his status as one of Konoha's most elite Jonin.<p>

Naruto raised a hand in greeting as he approached Kakashi. "Yo, Captain!" he greeted cheerfully.

"Oh?" Kakashi's one good eye lifted up off of his book and crinkled up. "Hello, Naruto," he returned lazily.

Naruto fell into step next to him as the Jonin turned back to his book. No more words were exchanged between them, and the young blonde ANBU narrowed his eyes. He moved extremely carefully, angling his head and trying to get a glimpse of the orange book. But, in a flash, Kakashi promptly snapped it shut.

Naruto almost pouted.

"Maa, Maa," Kakashi drawled. He waggled his finger in Naruto's face. "A young and innocent boy like you shouldn't be corrupted by such dirty material."

Naruto scowled, and crossed his arms. "Git," he snapped, but with a wry smile.

"Brat," Kakashi returned.

Naruto levelled a challenging look at him, but Kakashi seemed to be inspecting the edge of a kunai incredibly closely, and the blond rolled his eyes.

"Arsehole," he muttered.

"What was that?" Kakashi asked, sounding distracted, and once-again surprised by Naruto's presence.

Naruto twitched and Kakashi's mask moved, almost as if the man was supressing a smile. Then, Naruto couldn't hold it in any longer and he snorted. Kakashi chuckled, and patted Naruto on the top of the head.

When Naruto had been assigned to ANBU, Kakashi had been assigned a part-time role as Naruto's instructor. In between his role and responsibilities as an ANBU Captain, the silver-haired man had taken Naruto under his wing, and had engraved the basics of shinobi combat in the blonde's muscles and bones. When the Third Hokage had received him, Naruto had completely passed the hellish basic training, and was ready for the God of Shinobi's _unique_ training regime.

Naruto had been a child when he had been placed under Kakashi, and the childish, silly part of him had demanded to know what was under Kakashi's mask. The silver-haired man had quickly debased Naruto of that idea, so he had moved onto his second burning curiosity- what exactly did Kakashi read all of the time?

Of course, at the time his reading wasn't exactly advanced, so he was mostly looking for pictures. But after basic training, Naruto had continued to run in Kakashi- to the point that he suspected that the older Jonin was looking in on him- and he had made it his personal mission to find out what Kakashi was reading, something that the older ANBU had taken to like a game. Of course, Naruto had long since deciphered the title and contents of the book, but he was still determined to catch Kakashi off guard. Usually that involved some kind of hand-to-hand or a quick bout with a weapon, but the Hokage had stepped in the last time Naruto and Kakashi had gotten into a kunai fight in the middle of the street, and neither ANBU had been particularly happy with their punishment.

The two shinobi, both baring ANBU tattoos on their shoulders, relaxed on that busy street, and Naruto placed his hands on the back of his head.

"D-rank?" Naruto hazarded a guess after a few moments.

"Mhm," Kakashi uttered from behind his book.

Naruto nodded at that. A family shuffled past them, the wife rolling her eyes at the two shinobi obstructing the road.

"Boring?"

"Mhm."

Naruto scratched his nose. "Annoying?"

"Mhm," Kakashi murmured. He lifted his head. "Especially the small one."

"Tell me about it," Naruto responded dryly. A dark look entered his eyes. "I had to clean under his bed this morning. You _don't_ want to know."

"Oh?" Kakashi's book lowered, an unconscious habit that signified his rising interest, and he stared at Naruto keenly. "You mean…?"

"Nope," Naruto said flatly. He whacked Kakashi's arm with the back of his hand. "He's eight."

"Oh," Kakashi uttered and the book rose again.

A few moments passed between them, the sound of busy Konoha in the afternoon floating by them. Then, Naruto sighed and lifted a hand in farewell.

"Well, I'll catch you la-" he began to say.

He trailed off and almost as one, both Naruto and Kakashi looked up. There was a blur of movement, and Naruto watched as the three genin appeared in front of Kakashi. There were two who looked about twelve, the pink-haired girl Haruno Sakura, the stoic Uchiha Sasuke, while there was one who couldn't be more than eight- Sarutobi Konohamaru.

Just the sight of him made Naruto twitch.

"Mission complete," Sasuke told Kakashi flatly. His eyes flickered to Naruto, and a brief look of surprise entered them. The Uchiha straightened, suddenly seeming a lot more interested in what was going on.

Sakura nodded as well, as she greeted Naruto with a polite bow.

"Oi, Naruto!" Konohamaru practically screamed. He took an aggrieved stance and levelled a finger at the blond ANBU. "What's the deal with the lunch you pa- argh!"

The young Sarutobi fell backwards from the force of the snap-kick that Naruto had just delivered to him. The blond ANBU lowered his leg, his eye twitching and his fists clenched. Despite the speed of the kick, all it had really done knock the young boy back, and Konohamaru was on his feet in a second, his face slowly darkening.

"What was that for, you jerk?" He yelled angrily, although the effect was ruined by the flush in his cheeks- still round with babyfat- and the pouting expression on his face.

"You little punk!" Naruto growled between gritted teeth. In a flash, he had his hand on Konoharmu's head, and the young boy cried as Naruto rubbed his knuckles through his hair. "Bring your dishes to the kitchen, you little brat! If I find another mouldy plate under your bed again…" He trailed off warningly.

"Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!" Konohamaru yelped.

The two were recipients to many stares from the people walking past them. A pair of well-dressed, elegant woman tutted loudly and fanned themselves dramatically, but for the most the citizens of Konoha ignored what was a rather common spectacle. Konohamaru had picked up a lot of things from his grandfather, including the Hokage's hobby of picking on Naruto. However, unlike his grandfather, Konohamaru wasn't skilled enough to beat the crap out of Naruto, and there was something cathartic for Naruto to take his frustrations out on somebody who bore the Sarutobi blood.

"Now, now," Kakashi's voice rose above the din. Naruto huffed, but stopped, as the older Jonin snapped his book shut. "I think that we're done for the day." He turned to his genin, and gave a short wave. "Dismissed. Same time tomorrow, kids."

The older Jonin was gone in a puff of smoke, leaving Naruto alone with the three genin. Konohamaru straightened, his eyes watery, and blew a raspberry at Naruto. Then he was gone in a flutter of blue scarf as Naruto raised his fist again, his eyes twitching.

"Sasuke-kun, did you want to…" the girl, Sakura, began timidly.

"No." Sasuke's answer was short, sharp and to the point.

Looking dejected, Sakura nodded and, with another bow to Naruto, left. Only Sasuke remained, the Uchiha eying Naruto stoically. The ANBU stared back for a few moments, noting the spark of curiosity in the other's eyes.

"Yep?" Naruto prompted, with a raised eyebrow.

Sasuke opened his mouth, and then hesitated. He snapped it shut, looking strangely tense, and put his hands in his pockets. Naruto's lips twitched, and he stretched his arms.

"You know," he began, looking up at the sky. "I was just about to head down to the Training Grounds for some light training. Did you want to join me?"

Sasuke stilled. Eagerness flashed over his face, but the Uchiha masked it quickly.

"Sure," the raven-haired boy answered, with a forced air of nonchalance. Still, Naruto had to suppress a grin as the Uchiha practically skipped alongside of him.

* * *

><p>The Training Grounds of Konoha were, for the most part, located outside of the Village Walls, far away from the highways that led in and out of Konoha itself. Shielded by the massive trees of the Land of Fire, there were no less than three-hundred specifically-designed fields available for use by Leaf Nin. They simulated many different environments, from the rocky, gritty slopes of the Land of Lightning to the murky, damp swamps of the Land of Water. There were, of course, restrictions on who could enter which training ground. Nobody wanted a genin accidentally getting his or her head blown off because they had strolled into the training ground of a squad of Jonin, for example.<p>

Sasuke's rank as a Genin meant that Naruto was restricted to where he could bring him. Luckily, there was a session available in Training Ground 24, and Naruto was able to book it for most of the afternoon. Training Ground 24 was based upon the Land of Tea, with a long, narrow strip of a flat, grassy area and a wider, forest environment. The two boys entered the clearing, and Naruto turned to Sasuke.

"Hand to hand?" he offered.

Sasuke nodded eagerly and, after a few stretches, settled in his stance. Naruto took note of it, noticing how the centre of balance was quite fluid and the positioning of the Uchiha's arms, and then took a stance of his own.

Then they fought.

Naruto was immediately on the offensive, and he darted towards Sasuke. His hands lashed out- only to be blocked again and again as Sasuke deftly parried and countered every single one of his strikes. All the while, the Uchiha kept his balance, and at the end of the series of blows, Naruto had to duck a spinning kick as Sasuke countered. Red gleamed in the Uchiha's eyes, and Naruto smiled. Then he was at it again.

They sparred for at least fifteen minutes. Naruto had the advantage of speed- he was much faster than Sasuke- but the Uchiha had very good form. The Uchiha Counter-Fist was a very passive form, allowing one with superior observational skills to analyse and parry incoming attacks, before following up with their own. Sasuke didn't use a lot of offensive strikes, but the ones he did use were potentially debilitating. He aimed for the eyes and the throat, and went in for vulnerable spots like the kneecap and the elbow. Naruto was even caught by surprise in one instance as the Uchiha redirected the momentum of his strike back at him, and Sasuke's fist whizzed through his hair as Naruto was forced to duck.

Nonetheless, Naruto was an A-rank shinobi, and Sasuke was still a genin, albeit a talented genin. Naruto pushed, and Sasuke struggled to keep up. After a while, they paused for a break. Naruto was breathing deeply but was otherwise fine, whereas Sasuke was panting, his hands on his knees as he stopped to take a breath. Sweat dripped from his brow, but he looked otherwise pleased.

"What forms do you use?" Sasuke asked after a few moments.

"It's a mixture of several," Naruto replied. He scratched the back of his head. "It's mostly a combination of Stinging-wasp and Talon of the Eagle, but there's some Monkey First in there- mostly in the wide blows."

Sasuke nodded. His breathing was getting steadier. "You make thrusting motions with your hands," the Uchiha noted. He mimicked a few. "Do you use weapons?"

"That's the basis behind Talon of the Eagle." Naruto beamed, looking impressed. "Nice catch."

Sasuke shrugged. "My eyes," he offered as way of an explanation. There wasn't any boasting behind his statement, just a matter-of-face statement.

"Yeah, I mostly use a kunai if I have to fight hand-to-hand. I'm not very good at it, actually," Naruto confessed.

Sasuke's eyebrows rose.

"Relatively speaking. Naruto chuckled, scratching the back of his head. He shrugged. "I don't have a lot of strength behind my blows, so it helps to have something to make my strikes hurt."

Sasuke nodded thoughtfully. Then, he was silent for a few moments. While his face remained stoic, the other boy seemed to be wrestling with something. Naruto waited, but Sasuke seemed reluctant to say anything.

"Would you like to watch some of it with your Sharingan?" the blond offered generously.

Sasuke jerked. Then, he nodded.

Naruto went through several of the forms while Sasuke observed him. With the sun bearing down on him, and the cool wind that blew through the trees, it was quite relaxing. Sasuke's Sharingan, two-tomoe in one eye and one in the other, was centred on him.

"It's probably not going to help you with your form," Naruto called out as he went through the motions. "It's a very offensive style, not like your defensive one, but it might help you recognise what an enemy is doing."

Sasuke nodded, accepting Naruto's words. The blond ANBU finished up after a few more minutes and stretched his arms. As Naruto was taking a drink, the red swirled out of Sasuke's eyes, and the Uchiha cleared his throat.

"Thank you," he said rather earnestly. "I'm surprised you let me look."

Naruto frowned, feeling puzzled. "Why wouldn't I?"

Sasuke just shrugged, and Naruto rolled his eyes. He reached around and whacked Sasuke on the back of his head. The other boy started, and scowled. He suddenly looked more childlike as he rubbed his dark hair petulantly.

"We're both Leaf Nin," Naruto told him firmly. Sasuke jerked at that, staring at Naruto strangely. "Someday, what I showed you here might save your life. Why wouldn't I let you copy it?"

Sasuke had a strange look on his face, but he stared at Naruto with gratitude.

"Anyway!" Naruto continued cheerfully, clapping Sasuke on the back. "You're hand-to-hand is pretty good, and I'm all excited now. Let's see what else you can do."

Sasuke ran through his skill-set while Naruto watched, occasionally nodding approvingly. The Uchiha had a wide array of techniques, mostly centred on tools and weapons, but there were a few fire-type techniques as well. Naruto watched as Sasuke demonstrated an innovative use of wires that bound a trunk of a tree and set it alight in seconds. All in all, Sasuke was a very solid basis, especially for a genin, and Naruto was impressed.

"Right," Naruto said with a grin. He pulled out kunai, the metal polished and gleaming. "Let's see what you can do with one of these."

Sasuke pulled out his own kunai and settled into defensive stance. Naruto smiled, holding his kunai in a back-hand grip, and adjusted his arm. The sun shone down on the clearing, and Naruto used the polished side of his weapon to redirect it into Sasuke's eyes. Sasuke jerked back, and then Naruto struck.

Metal clashed on metal as Naruto pushed against Sasuke. The other boy fell back, desperately trying to keep form against Naruto's superior speed and weapons-use. Naruto, pressed up against the blade, gave a push and Sasuke staggered back.

"Move your feet like this." Naruto demonstrated, and watched as Sasuke's sharingan following him obediently.

The next time that Naruto pushed, Sasuke ground himself and pushed back. Sparks flew as the two blades pressed against each other, and Naruto nodded approvingly. Then, he lashed out with his other arm, and Sasuke went crashing to the ground.

"Watch my shoulders, not my hands," Naruto instructed gleefully.

This was fun!

Sasuke staggered up, and Naruto's eyes widened as he saw the boys hands in a tiger-sealed. Sasuke drew back, his chest swelling.

_Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!_

A stream of bright-yellow flame shot out at Naruto, he finished his seals in an instant.

_Fire Style: Fireball Technique!_

He spat out a stream of fire of his own, carefully modulated (as to not accidentally kill the other genin) and the two streams of fire crashed into each other. Smoke billowed into the air and the grass caught fire. There was a flash of movement, and suddenly a series of smaller streaks of fire shot through sizzling ball of flame. Naruto ducked- and had to hastily parry a series of shuriken away with his kunai- but then he was suddenly caught in a loop of wire. The streaks of fire struck a tree behind him with a solid whack, and Naruto turned around with wide eyes. There had been shuriken hidden in the flames, tied together with wire, which had also been tied onto the shuriken he had just deflected. The wires wrapped around him, binding his arms. A second later, a hot stream of flames burst down the wires, and Naruto let out a shriek as he was enveloped in flame.

On the other side of the clearing, Sasuke panted, but his sharingan swirled victoriously. He dropped the spools of wire in his hands, breathing deeply. Naruto had been overconfident, and Sasuke had played on that overconfidence, luring the other boy into a trap. He was completely taken by surprise, however, when a hand clapped on his shoulder.

"That looked like it would have hurt!"

Sasuke's head jerked back, and Naruto grinned down at him. Then, Sasuke convulsed, and Naruto let go of his shoulder, allowing the Uchiha to drop to the ground. The blond ANBU's palms crackled with tiny bolts of lightning-based chakra as he crouched down by Sasuke's side.

"That," Naruto began sternly. "…was a good replacement, but…"

"…unfortunately, you replaced yourself right next to me!" The Naruto hidden in the trees called out gleefully.

Sasuke whirled around, shuriken flying through the air, and darted away from the trees. He was just in time, and a loud boom echoed throughout the clearing as the branch he had been standing on exploded. It fell from the trunk of the tree and crashed to the ground as Sasuke landed on the ground, using his hands to redistribute his balance and ending in a crouch. His hands flew.

_Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!_

He blew the ball of fire into the trees, and his sharingan swirled as he caught sight of a dart of movement. Then, Naruto was in his face, pushing past his defences and delivering a solid kick to his mid-section. Sasuke wheezed, but kept his composure as he flipped back gracefully. More shuriken shot out form his palm, but Naruto batted them away. It did give Sasuke enough time to retreat to a clump of rocks on the far side of the clearing.

_Lightning Release: Electromagnetic Murder!_

A cascading wave of lightning tore through the ground and shattered the clumps of rocks apart. Sasuke shielded his face as the debris cut into him, and was unprepared for the devastating blow that Naruto delivered to his stomach a second later- but he hadn't been, and shattered pieces of wood fell to the ground where he had once stood.

But then it was all over. Sasuke was very still as he felt the points of at least five kunai prick into his skin. He was surrounded by all sides, multiple copies of the grinning and cheerful expression of the Hokage's Personal Assistant.

"I yield," he said tightly.

His assailants disappeared in puffs of smoke, and Sasuke adjusted himself.

"Well, that was fun," Naruto declared cheerfully.

"You're obviously a ninjutsu specialist," Sasuke observed tiredly. Still he looked content and allowed Naruto to pat him on the back and hand him a drink.

"I am," Naruto agreed. He smiled. "Long-distance ninjutsu is my speciality."

Sasuke nodded, taking deep gulps of his water. He finished the bottle off, and shook the sweat out of his head. Naruto watched him carefully.

"You push yourself hard," he noted neutrally. He paused. "Itachi?"

Sasuke stilled. Then, after a few moments, he inclined his head just a fraction.

"You've got a long way to go," Naruto observed. "Itachi was one of the best."

Sasuke clenched his fists. "I know," he said tightly.

"You seem upset," Naruto said quietly.

"…I'm annoyed," Sasuke eventually replied. He looked away. "Kakashi never…" He sighed. "I don't know. I don't feel..." He trailed off. "Today, here with you, was the first time I've felt…challenged…for a while. Kakashi's a good shinobi, but he's not pushing me how I want him to. We always focus on team exercises and formations!"

"As he should be," Naruto admitted. He scratched his head as Sasuke scowled. "Look, some genin might have some unique skills and talents, but generally speaking the average genin is equipped with the Basic Three, some skill in hand-to-hand and weapons and the basics of team formations. The Genin stage lets rookie shinobi get their teamwork in sync with their comrades, accustoms them to following orders and completing missions. You're not really meant to be learning advanced techniques just yet."

"But I'm better than that!" Sasuke practically roared. His sharingan spun in his eye, activated by his anger. Naruto stared at him steadily, and Sasuke flinched and lowered his head. When he looked up, his sharingan was gone. "I know I shouldn't say it, but I am. There's nothing special about Sakura, and Konohamaru…" he hesitated, obviously aware of Naruto's station amongst the Sarutobi. "…he lacks determination. He's got no drive. He's clumsy and…" He trailed off, looking emotionally exhausted.

Naruto knew exactly what he was talking about. Konoharmu had received much of the similar training that Naruto had once begun with, but it had quickly become apparent that he had not inherited his grandfather's legendary chakra. Even so, it had been enough to make him a genin at the age of eight. Still, Naruto had to say that at the moment Konohamaru's biggest flaw was his lack of conviction. He didn't really think that the boy knew exactly why he was fighting.

At that age, Naruto had. He became strong because the Third Hokage told him to. It had been all he had needed.

At that age, Sasuke had also found his motivation. He became strong so that he might strike down the one who had left him in that hellish pit of loneliness. For such a young child, it had definitely been enough to force Sasuke past his limits, again and again and again.

Naruto took a seat next to him. They sat in silence for a few moments, before Naruto began speaking. "I made A-class a few months ago, just before the Blitz," he told Sasuke. "Long story short, I somehow ended up working with a team of five others. They're good- two A-ranks and three B-ranks- but they're not as good as me."

And that was probably true. During training sessions, Naruto was definitely one of the stronger members of the group. Of course, they all had their skills and strengths. Naruto's _genjutsu_ was average at best- easily undone by a competent enemy, whereas Yuuka's were much more potent. He couldn't match the tracking skills of Daichi, nor could produce medical chakra like Komachi, and Towa's seal-based weaponry was definitely out of his area of expertise. Despite that, and hopefully without arrogance, Naruto felt that he performed just a little bit better than all of them. His strengths outdid his weaknesses by a far margin. Of them all, Kage was probably the one closest to his level- a gap-closer who could get in his face and prevent him from making hand-seals faster than Naruto could stop him. Those fast close-combat specialists were the worst kind of opponent for a long-ranged specialist like Naruto.

Sasuke listened attentively.

"But during the blitz, we encountered an enemy that _I_ wasn't as good as," Naruto continued. His bangs draped in front of his eyes, hiding them from view. "He was terrifying- an S-ranked opponent, one of _those_ monsters." Naruto leaned forward, staring at Sasuke intently. "Sasuke. We won."

He was stretching the truth just a tad, but Sasuke's eyes were wide.

"There were casualties, yeah, but our teamwork was superior, and in the end, our opponent was all alone," Naruto said, somewhat wistfully.

Uzumaki Shinno truly had been alone, despite his strength. There had been no Third Hokage to drag him from his loneliness.

"You're good, Sasuke," Naruto continued, shaking those regretful thoughts out of his heads. "You really are. But, you don't seem to work well with others." He gave the Uchiha a smile, and clapped him on the back. "You'll need to change that if you want to join ANBU."

"The ANBU?" Sasuke repeated, somewhat stunned.

Naruto frowned. "I would have thought you'd have wanted to join Alpha Platoon," he explained. "They're jerks, but they're very good."

"Why them?" Sasuke questioned.

Naruto smiled thinly. "Because they have a priority S-ranked standing mission that you'd be interested in," he said grimly. He stared at the last of the Uchiha clan, the one who had been left his own pit of loneliness due to the actions of another. "If Itachi shows up again, Alpha Platoon will be the ones sent after him- all of them. It's one of their standing S-ranked missions- the elimination of the traitor Uchiha Itachi."

"Really?" There was a note of something that seemed like tentative wonder in Sasuke's voice.

Naruto smiled softly. "What?" he asked. "Did you think we'd forgotten about him?"

Sasuke looked abashed, and Naruto suddenly realised that yes, Uchiha Sasuke really had thought that Konoha had forgotten about the Uchiha Clan Massacre, and what Uchiha Itachi had done.

Naruto placed his hand on Sasuke's shoulder. "When you join ANBU, you join a family," he said in a low voice. Sasuke looked at the hand, suddenly seeming more vulnerable than Naruto had ever seen him before. "When Itachi betrayed your clan, he also betrayed _my _family. Just like you, we also want revenge."

Sasuke licked his lips. "Alpha Platoon…" he repeated strangely.

"They're the best," Naruto told him. "They're a bunch of arseholes, but they're very good. Kitsune is one of the strongest captains I know." Even if Naruto really didn't like the stoic man, he recognised his ability. "You have the skill base for it, but you _need_ to work on your ability to coordinate with others. If you can't work as part of a unit, they won't want you."

"Could you…are you able to…" Sasuke sounded tongue-tied. He was obviously not used to asking others for help.

"I've got no say in it at all," Naruto admitted. He frowned, biting his lip and considering things. "Still, I personally think you'd be a good pick- if you can get over this hang-up of yours."

Sasuke nodded resolutely.

"Keep practising, Sasuke," Naruto said, and he stood up. He smiled. "I'm sure I'll see you soon."

The blond ANBU walked away, leaving the last, surviving, _loyal_ member of the Uchiha Clan to his thoughts. Personally, Naruto didn't know if there were any specific plans for Sasuke, but he was suddenly determined to bring him in. The Uchiha was skilled, but most importantly, he was stuck in that dark, horrible pit that Naruto had once lived in. He needed somebody to do what the Third Hokage had done for Naruto- to bring him up and give him a purpose, and comrades- people to trust and fight with.

Yes. Sasuke would do well in the ANBU- even if Naruto had to draft him into Sigma Squad himself.


	20. Preparations: Part I

**A/N: The last anime episodes have provided a little backstory to Pakura, which I think can actually work with what I've done. How fortunate. I'd been going with a guess of how old she was, but given that she has an young apprentice in Shippuden times, I guess I wasn't too far off. What I did find interesting was that Gari claimed he 'had always wanted to fight her'- which meant that he couldn't be too far beyond her time as well. Might have a use for him, I suppose…**

**Chapter 20**

The transition from slumber into consciousness was, for Naruto, a relatively quick and painless one. No sooner had the hand of the clock moved from 6:58 onto 6:59 that Naruto's eyes had shot open. He lay back in his bed, warm and rather cosy, staring up at the ceiling with his crystal blue eyes. Then, he sighed, and was up in a flurry of movement. He flung his froggy nightcap into his wardrobe, and had stripped, made and pressed his bed in a matter of moments.

Dressed in his pyjamas, Naruto pressed his thumb on the red spiral tattooed on his shoulder. A loud puff of smoke filled the room, enveloping him and, when it had dissipated, Naruto stood there clad in his ANBU armour. His metal arm-guards were a little more dulled, and his grey armoured vest was a little more dented and scratched. This armour had seen him through its fair share of battles over the past months, and Naruto was merely glad that the Quartermaster's Office had been able to repair it. He finished wrapping the bandages around his long, dark trousers, adjusted the utility belt on his waist, and made sure that his mask was secure. Then, he was out of the room, closing the door gently behind him.

The clock flipped from 6:59 to 7:00.

Mornings in the Sarutobi household were always interesting. There were only three members living in the personal chambers underneath the Hokage's Tower- Naruto, Konohamaru and the Third Hokage himself. Despite the ANBU team and rotation of Jonin that kept guard, the actual quarters of the Hokage were hidden from view. Only those who lived there knew of the sheer madness that occurred there every morning.

"Will you stop- urk!" Naruto's cry was cut off mid-sentence as a thin spike of hardened rock pierced him in the jugular. For a moment, he hung suspended in the air, his blue eyes widened with shock. Then, in sudden flare of chakra, he disappeared with a burst of smoke and a rather loud pop.

The real Naruto sighed and palmed his forehead. "Hokage-sama!" he called out from behind Sarutobi's bedroom doors. "It's time to get up. You have some important meetings today!"

There was no response, and Naruto huffed.

"Right," he said, turning to a group of blonde-haired chakra-constructs standing next to him. "In you go. Split up, flank him and _get him out of bed_!"

The clones obeyed with the eagerness and energy that one would expect from a barely-sentient copy. In a flash of movement, the doors burst open and the trio of elite ANBU surged forward. They had barely touched the floor when they leapt up onto the walls and the roof, using chakra as an adhesive to stick there. They were just in time as more spears of stone and rock jutted up from the ground- an impressive technique given that the floors were made from wooden floorboards. Part of Naruto's mind speculated that perhaps the Hokage was using dirt traipsed in from outside that had fallen between the floorboards. The other part of his mind continued to rage.

One of the clones abruptly disappeared in a puff of smoke, and Naruto held his hand to his head, attempting to untangle the rush of sensation and memory that the clone had given him. From what he could gleam, there was some kind of razor-wire trap nestled up on the roof.

"Will you stop that?" Naruto called out between gritted teeth.

The young, blond ANBU was answered with the dispersal of yet another shadow clone. Naruto clenched his fists, breathing deeply as he tried to calm himself. He had almost settled down when the third shadow clone abruptly fell to the ground. It managed to look somewhat baffled before a loud, creaking noise filled the air. The real Naruto watched, just as baffled, as a pair of large, thick wooden logs swung down from both ends of the other side of the doorway. The poor shadow clone was sandwiched in between the two, thick logs and disappeared in a puff of smoke. The resulting crash sent shudders through the floor, and a loud 'boom' filled the air.

"Alright, you lazy, old bastard!" Naruto roared. His smile was somewhat manic. He reached into his utility pack, fingering a pair of shuriken, a spool of wire and a trail of explosive notes. "We'll do this the hard way then! If you won't get up, I'll get you up!"

"You tell him, Naruto."

Naruto began priming the explosive notes as he set up a quick, basic shuriken technique. It took a few moments before it clicked, and he abruptly froze. His hands, which had been attaching the wire to the centre of his shuriken, slackened, and he released a resigned sigh.

"How long have you been standing there?" He asked.

The Third Hokage, clad in his official robes and hat, and puffing merrily on a pipe, shrugged. "At least a minute," he answered calmly. "Your situational awareness, as always, is atrocious."

"I checked over my shoulder about ten seconds ago!" Naruto protested as he packed up his tools, a scowl on his face.

"Idiot!" Sarutobi thundered, and Naruto winced as the old man clobbered him across the back of his head with surprising force. The old man waggled a finger in his apprentice's face. "When you looked behind you, I was, of course, standing in front of you!"

Naruto just looked befuddled. "What?"

"Now hurry up!" Sarutobi snapped. He let out a weary, pitiful sigh that didn't fool Naruto in the least. "I'm hungry, and we have a meeting at in an hour!"

"Yes, sir," Naruto said resignedly. He had already begun making the clones that would repair the damage that had been inflicted on the Hokage's chambers- as well as reset all of the traps. He paused. "Wait, what? There's no meeting on your schedule for that time."

"Of course not," Sarutobi barked. He clipped Naruto over the head once more for good measure. "Why would I need to schedule a meeting to talk to you, my idiot apprentice? Now hurry up, you idiot!"

The Hokage left Naruto standing there with clenched fists and a rather manic smile on his face.

"Treason is bad, treason is bad, treason is bad…" Naruto chanted to himself.

* * *

><p>Luckily, breakfast had been a quiet affair. Konohamaru, who always <em>loved<em> to make things interesting, had been rather rushed. The young boy had scarfed down his food, picked up the lunchbox that Naruto had packed, and had rushed away with a half-hearted wave behind him. Naruto cleaned up the young boys mess, an approving smile on his face.

The mission to the Land of Waves, and Hatake Kakashi's encounter and subsequent battle against the ex-member of the elite Seven Ninja Swordsmen, the Demon of the Mist, Zabuza, had lighted something within the young boy. Konohamaru had always taken his training a little too loosely, despite receiving the attention of some high-ranking personal tutors. Naruto was glad to see that that attitude was beginning to change. While the little brat pissed him off to no end, Naruto didn't really want to see him die.

The rest of breakfast went by quickly. The Hokage, for whatever reason, had chosen not to pull his usual antics. Naruto had stood there, watching the old man with suspicious eyes as he ate. Not only had Sarutobi eaten his fruits and drank his vegetable juices, he had also voluntarily taken the various pills and medicines prescribed by the hospital. Naruto was convinced that there was a trick- he even made the Hokage open his mouth and inspected between his teeth and behind his tongue until he was satisfied- but the old man was genuinely acting like a mature, responsible shinobi.

Naruto just kept waiting for the other shoe to drop.

* * *

><p>An hour later, Naruto walked behind the Third Hokage as the old man led him through the bowels of the Hokage's Tower. Once the two had left the apartment-like rooms of the Hokage's residence, the decor had turned from luxurious to grim. Polished wooden floorboards and tastefully-done furniture gave away for thick, cold grey stone. Members of the Jonin Guard lined the hallways at various checkpoints. They bowed their heads respectfully as Naruto and the Hokage passed. After some time, the Hokage had led Naruto through the ANBU Headquarters, and into the small room where he had been promoted to his A-rank status. The young blond was hit with a wave of nostalgia as he remembered it had been like all those months ago. These days, everything seemed different.<p>

"Sit, Naruto," the Hokage ordered quietly.

Naruto took a seat at one end of the metal table, as the Hokage seated himself at the other end. For the moment, the two shinobi were alone. He waited patiently as Sarutobi pulled out his pipe, carefully inserting the tobacco- a Land of Tea variety, if Naruto's nose was right- and puffing on it quietly.

After a few more moments, the door opened, and two people entered the room. The first one, Naruto immediately recognised as Uzuki Yugao. She wore her porcelain ANBU mask, one resembling a cat with red stripes. Naruto hadn't heard much about her since the Blitz, but he had seen her as Team Sigma had dragged her out of a Sky Nin torture chamber, so her appearance can as a bit of a surprise. He wouldn't have thought that she would have recovered for active duty just yet.

The other arrival was a young man in his early twenties. He had a crop of short brown, hair, which hung over his forehead protector. He wore the standard attire of the ANBU, the light-grey vest and the dark clothes, and the dark hilt of a blade was swung over his shoulder. His face came off as average and almost forgettable, but there was something about him that made Naruto frown, and it wasn't until the two arrivals moved past him to come and sit on either side of the Hokage that Naruto realised who it was.

It was Kage. Naruto had never seen the man without his eerie mask before, but he almost-instantly recognised the way the man moved- that, and the dull-black blade on his back was rather noticeable as well. Naruto met the man's eyes, and saw Kage incline his head just a fraction. The young ANBU supressed a smile and he straightened on his chair, waiting for the Hokage to speak. Something like nervousness bubbled in his chest and he exhaled rather deeply.

"You are Uzumaki Naruto, registration code 012607, codenamed "Ferret", attached to Sigma Squad," Yugao began, reciting off his details effortlessly.

"I am, Captain," Naruto responded affirmatively.

"Are you aware of the purpose of this meeting?" Yugao pressed on.

Nothing was readable in her eyes as Naruto shook his head. The Hokage merely sat there, puffing on his pipe, while Kage was motionless, as if he had been carved from rock.

"During the last six months, you have been involved in two operations that had retrospectively been classed as 'S-rank'," Yugao continued. She picked up a folder on the table and flipped it open. "During the altercation with Sky Country, which had now been formally designated as 'The Blitz', you took command of the remnants of Gamma Team and Iota Squad and conducted vital missions deep within enemy territory. Correct?"

"Yes, Ma'am," Naruto responded. He remembered the Blitz very well, the shock and horror and anger and rage- and he suppressed as ruthlessly as he could. Nonetheless, he couldn't stop his eyes from flickering to Kage. "I led a team of five ANBU on direct orders of the Hokage. We infiltrated and sabotaged the enemy fleet, before locating and destroying the enemy headquarters."

Uzumaki Shinno. Mantis, and his team of silent, unknown ANBU. That powerful, crimson power that had surged through him. Naruto almost smiled wryly. They had been interesting times.

"You also retrieved an ANBU Captain from the hands of the enemy, did you not?" Yugao's voice was neutral.

Naruto eyed her very carefully and nodded slightly.

"Your latest mission, also retrospectively classed as 'S-rank', involved the daughter of the Fire Lord, a maniacal cult of immortal warriors, and a pair of mercenaries- one who you reported was likely to be Suna's S-rank Missing-Nin, Pakura of the Scorch Release," Yugao read. Something like exasperation entered her voice as she lowered her folder. "You're not having very much luck on your missions, are you?"

Naruto couldn't help smiling. "Guess not, Captain," he replied. He thought he saw the Hokage's lips twitch, and Kage settled on a slightly-less unreadable stance that Naruto took to be amusement.

"Don't think that you're actions haven't gone unnoticed," Yugao said warningly. She placed the folder on the table. "The higher-ups have been watching you _very _carefully."

Naruto didn't know whether or not this was a good or a bad thing.

The Hokage took over from there. "Uzumaki Naruto," he said. He paused, withdrawing the pipe from his mouth and tapping it on the table. "After reviewing your reports- and deciphering that incredible mess you call handwriting- and with the recommendation of the Captain of Gamma Platoon, Uzuki Yugao, Squad Captain of Gamma's Team Three, Komachi, and Captain of Recon Squad Iota, Kage, the Hokage's Office has decided to issue you a field promotion for your exemplary service in the field, up and above the call of duty. Congratulations, Jonin Uzumaki."

Naruto beamed, and his heart soared. His smile was infectious, as the Hokage chuckled and even Kage's face twitched a little.

"Thank you, Hokage-sama," he said happily.

He was still grinning madly as Yugao and Kage stood. With a quick bow to the Hokage, they departed, leaving Naruto and the Hokage alone. The old man puffed on his pipe again as he stared down at his young apprentice. Naruto stared back at him, almost biting his lip, as he waited for the old man to continue. Finally, the Hokage sighed.

"You've done well, Naruto," Sarutobi acknowledged. "You have done very well."

If Naruto's smile had been wide before, now it threatened to split his cheeks. He flushed, feeling a silly little rush of euphoria. Naruto was revelling so much in the praise that he missed the flash of emotion that ran through the Hokage's eyes, something like sadness or weariness. But, when he looked up, it was gone.

"Your promotion comes at an opportune time," Sarutobi said. "Naruto, I have a mission for you."

Naruto's smile faded and he sobered. The Hokage stroked his chin, and took a deep breath.

"You may or may not be aware, but soon Konoha will host the Chunin Exams," Sarutobi continued. "The exams were scheduled long before the Blitz, and after discussions with the Fire Lord and the Jonin Commander, we have decided that it was absolutely essential that the exams continue, and run smoothly. We cannot have Konoha appear weak or vulnerable."

"I understand,' Naruto said grimly- and he did.

The Chunin Exams were the best source of public relations that the Hidden Villages had. They were often very large, and very loud, spectacles, and they drew thousands of people from all over the Elemental Countries. Everybody, from local landowners and merchants, to the rich and powerful Lords, came to watch the best Genin from each Village compete against each other. With such an audience, the economic benefits of doing well in the Chunin Exams were obvious. Villages that performed well and impressed the audience usually saw a substantial increase of mission requests. Genin who did well could be expected to see a rapid rise through the ranks, especially if they were requested personally by clients.

Less obvious were the strategic and military benefits of the exams. During the exams, foreign shinobi were allowed access into the Hidden Village itself. Even though security was considerably heightened, it was still an information windfall. What's more, it allowed the other Villages to begin creating detailed profiles of up-and-coming shinobi, and glimpses into their rivals' techniques.

The concept of the Chunin Exams had been created at the end of the Third Great Shinobi War, the plans drawn up by the Fourth Hokage himself. There were very strict guidelines as to the organisation and commencement of the exams. It was a paradoxical situation, for Villages wanted to send Genin strong enough to woo the audience, yet didn't want to risk such useful resources needlessly. The idea would have lurked in the back of the minds of all of the Kage- the removal of potential threats, regardless of ranks and treaties.

After the debacle of the eleventh Chunin Exams, which had almost led to a Fourth Great Shinobi War, these guidelines had tightened even further.

"I'm afraid that you don't, not just yet," Sarutobi said rather grimly. The light above them glared down on them. "As per the outlines of the Chunin Exams, we sent our customary invitations to the Kage of the four other Great Villages. We had three responses. This year, our Chunin Exams will be attended by the Tsuchikage, the Raikage, and the Kazekage.

Naruto's jaw dropped, and he sat there, stunned.

The Third Hokage, the God of all Shinobi.

The Third Tsuchikage, Onoki of Both Scales.

The Fourth Raikage, the Unruly A.

The Fourth Kazekage, the Golden Sandstorm.

Four of the five Kage's all in one place.

Outside of the Great Wars, it was unprecedented.

"They have come to watch us, Naruto," Sarutobi continued quietly. "Watch us as a vulture watches a limping animal. Nonetheless, by treaty, they are allowed to enter Konoha for the duration of the Third Stage of the Chunin Exams. This is where you come in."

Naruto sat there silently.

"As custom dictates, tomorrow, there will be a conference in the Land of Grass," the Hokage informed him. "Representatives from the other villages will be there. I am sending you as my representative. As a Jonin, and my personal assistant, your voice will carry sway. You have two objectives."

"Firstly, you are to ensure that the previously-agreed-to rules and procedures are enforced. There will be no negotiation. The other Kage will agree to our terms as they are, or they will not be welcome."

"Secondly, you are to organise travel details of the other Kage, so that we can ensure safe passage from our borders into the Village. You will be given a map, showing the preferred routes. Under no circumstances will I allow Kage free reign of the Land of Fire."

Naruto was quiet as the Hokage finished.

"I accept the mission, sir," Naruto said. He stood up. "May I be dismissed, so that I can prepare for my mission?"

Sarutobi nodded. "Your equipment will be waiting for you at the Armoury," he replied. "May the Will of Fire illuminate your path."

* * *

><p>The Armoury was a large warehouse located in Sector 2, deep within Konoha. Most of the actual warehouse lay underground, where vast stocks of weaponry, supplies and rations were safe from attack. The walls were made of a combination between solid rock and huge plates of steel, supported by a powerful barrier maintained by Konoha's Sealing Corps. While most shinobi had their own private supply of weapons and tools, it was unreasonable for administration to assume that shinobi would supply all of the tools needed to complete their missions. Each Shinobi had a quota of basic tools that they could draw on from the Armoury, allowing them to replace kunai, shuriken, wire, and explosive tags that had been used and lost during the course of their missions. The Armoury also distributed ration packs, solider pills, storage-seals, and anything that a shinobi might need to complete a mission.<p>

Most of the missions that Konoha performed were quite routine. The Land of Fire was Konoha's largest client, employing thousands of shinobi at any one time to act as peacekeepers, guards, messengers, doctors, and any of the public servant roles that the country had need of. Load-outs for these types of missions was pre-arranged, and usually delivered onsite. For missions undertaken for individual clients, or missions that took shinobi out of the Land of Fire, things worked a little differently. The Missions Assignment Office would calculate all of the variables and information within the mission request, and they would make an estimate as to what tools and equipment a team would need to ensure success. This information was usually contained at the bottom of the mission scroll presented to the team captain, who would then make sure that the equipment was picked up and distributed amongst the team.

Uzumaki Naruto, unmasked and wearing cargo pants, utility pouches, and a white t-shirt adorned with the Uzumaki emblem, stepped past members of the Guard and into the distribution centre of the Armoury. Almost immediately, his senses were assaulted with noise, and he winced. The Armoury was particularly busy these days, outfitting and organising materials for missions entailing the repair and rebuilding of Konoha's damaged sectors, as well as the constant stream of missions from international clients that Konoha wanted to keep happy. There were at least a hundred different shinobi waiting within the foyer, and the swishing fans overhead did nothing to keep the heat and humidity out of the air.

Naruto sidestepped passed a scar-faced Jonin Captain, who was tapping his foot impatiently, and bypassed the queue completely. A dark-eyed blonde wearing a Chunin vest that barely hid her assets scoffed as he walked past, but Naruto merely cocked his head and smiled politely at her, and after a few moments she shifted her eyes away, looking strangely uneasy. He made his way to the front of the line, where a Jonin was receiving a large scroll and several ornate pins.

"Here's your sealing equipment," the clerk behind the desk said hurriedly. He wiped the sweat from his eyes. "The rest will be sent to Capital with our fastest transports."

The Jonin nodded curtly, and turned. Big, burly and entirely mean-looking, he nonetheless recognised Naruto and gave him a brief nod. Naruto waved back, smiling politely, but as the Jonin left struggled to remember exactly who that was. A bell suddenly rang and Naruto straightened.

"Next!" the clerk called, his voice sounding exhausted. "Priority missions only! Next in line!"

Naruto stepped forward and wordlessly presented his mission scroll. The clerk took it and flicked it out- not so that it unravelled completely, just so that the bottom of the scroll was exposed. He glanced at it for a few moments, took in Naruto's face, then tore the bottom off of the scroll and handed it back.

"One moment, please," he said, then turned his head. "I need a pack of 3Bs , a Jonin vest in 12-Small, two MREs and three spools!"

His voice was just one of many that were calling out into the unseen hallways and corridors behind him, but somebody must have heard him because a few moments later, a young teenage girl appeared in a near-perfect Body Flicker technique, her arms cradled with stuff. She dumped it on the table and disappeared as promptly as she had come.

"Right," the clerk said tiredly. "Here you go. There's a pack each of the three-basics- kunai, shuriken, explosive tags. You've got a week of rations, three spools of wire and a newly assigned Jonin vest. Please ensure that you maintain your armour and equipment, and report any lost through the duration of your mission."

Naruto couldn't help but grin at the sight of the pristine dark-green vest. He quickly placed it on, feeling his pride swell beneath the surface of his skin as he distributed his newly-acquired weapons to his different pouches. He was done in less than a minute, and the clerk nodded unenthusiastically.

"Congratulations on your promotion," he said dully. He rang the bell. "Next in line please! Priority missions only!"

Naruto turned to leave, trying to ignore the barely-hidden hostility from a few of the shinobi trapped in the regular queue. One of them caught his eye, and Sarutobi Asuma puffed on his cigarette. He acknowledged Naruto with a brief nod of his head and a tightening of the lips. The estranged scion of the Sarutobi was a rather sensitive topic in the Sarutobi household, and while Naruto didn't know the reasons which had caused the split between Asuma and the Third Hokage, he knew it had been enough for goateed man to leave Konoha on administrative leave for years on end.

Naruto returned the greeting just as stiffly and walked past the man and his genin team. The blonde Yamanaka, Ino- from what Naruto remembered- beamed as she saw him, while the Nara just looked uninterested.

"Who was that?" he heard the Akimichi ask as he left the Armoury.

"Don't you know anything, Chouji?" the girl responded in exasperation. "That's a hero of Konoha, the Right Hand of God!"

The Land of Grass was a small country, nestled in between the two minor countries of the Land of Rain and the Land of Waterfalls, and the two giant superpowers of the Land of Fire and the Land of Earth. Due to its strategic location, the Land of Grass had been a centre of interest during all three of the Great Shinobi Wars. The blood of thousands of Leaf and Stone Nin had been spilt there, intermingled with the blood of the natives that had been unfortunate enough to have been caught in the crossfire. However, despite its strategic importance, the Land of Grass had never been conquered, despite the Land of Earth's best attempts during the First War. In a battle that could still not be fully explained to this day, the First Tsuchikage and an entire division of Iwa's best shinobi were routed by the roaming clans of the Land of Grass. The outcome of that battle forced Iwagakure out of the First War and led to the formation of Kusagakure. Those events only added to the mystique of the Land of Grass.

On the surface, it appeared to be a somewhat beautiful place. There were lush forests, and fields of green grass and beautiful, glowing orange flowers. But it was a land dotted with rivers and ravines, large cracks that had been torn into the ground from battles of ages past. The landscape was dotted with unnaturally flat plateaus, some which scholars claimed were the result of mountains having been cleaved in two. Most of the country's cities and villages had been built upon those plateaus, connected by a series of bridges.

Once upon a time, Kusa- or whatever the land used to be called- had ruled the world. Little was known on the techniques or artefacts that had helped them do it. Supposedly, it had been an age of darkness and tyranny, one before the advent of chakra, a reign of evil that had lasted for a thousand years. Then, one day, a man had been born in a tiny village in the heart of that evil land. He had possessed strange powers and deadly eyes, and had risen up to overthrow those that stepped down on humanity. Once upon a time, Kusa had ruled the world, and once upon a time, the Sage of the Six Paths had destroyed an empire.

Little remained of that empire now. There were rumours, though, whispers and fairy tales of the dangerous things that survived that terrible war and lurked within the ravines and canyons of the Land of Grass. There were stories of unearthly screams, of wraiths and ghouls, of travellers tricked or bewitched by strange lights and taken away, never to be seen again- and for every excavation team who dove into the depths of the Land of Grass and came back, there were two teams who were never heard from again- or so the rumours said.

In reality, Kusa was a collection of tribes, clans, cults and religious orders, seemingly unified under the banner of Kusagakure, but still just as divided and conflicted as they had been the day the First Tsuchikage had marched upon them. There was no supreme lord or ruler, and intelligence indicated that major decisions were made from a parliament of representatives of the most powerful factions within Kusa. The latest report suggested that there were still over a hundred different blocs within Kusa, all with their own laws, rules and customs. Of those hundred, the Elemental Countries had only ever really interacted with around twenty of them. It truly was a land of mystery.

Naruto jogged along the road at a moderate pace, his arms held back and his face held high as he enjoyed the breeze. The sun beamed down on him and the birds chattered on the air as he leapt off of the ground, landed silently on a tree branch, and used it to propel him even faster. He had left the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Grass an hour ago, and was quickly approaching the rendezvous with the local ANBU.

They had hid themselves well, and it wasn't until a few moments later that Naruto suddenly came to a stop on the road. Unconsciously, he had already tensed, his hands moving carefully for his weapon pouches. Something had flickered on his senses, an almost-dirty presence, and it didn't take him long to realise that he was surrounded. Cloaked figures stood in the trees, peering down at him from behind grotesque masks. The visages of snarling demons, wailing children and disfigured men and women watched him, causing an unseen shudder to run across his back.

Carefully, Naruto removed his hands from his weapon pouch and reached for his mission scroll. He presented it, and under the eyes of his watchers, threw it on the ground in front of him. From out of the tree came a blur of movement, which snatched the scroll before it had even touched the ground. Somebody stood there, wearing an intricate mask of a laughing demon, devouring what seemed to be a baby's head. They held the scroll, and pressed their thumb against the authentication square in the right-hand corner. It flashed green and much of the tension left the air.

"Greetings, Leaf-Nin," the demon-masked shinobi greeted quietly in a coolly-recognisable female voice.

Naruto returned the greetings just as blankly, trying to repress the shudder than ran through his skin. Most Hidden Villages had developed their own unit of Special Forces, they were still colloquially known as ANBU to the rest of the world. In Konoha, each Hidden Village had been assigned a label to identify them from the simple 'ANBU' term. For Kusagakure, their ANBU were known to Konoha as IVY.

As Naruto stared at that disgusting face, and while a part of him marvelled at the way Kusa implemented psychological tactics directly onto the field, he had to wonder why Intelligence had come up with that name all that time ago. He could certainly think of a few better.

"Your counterparts await you at a roadside Inn, twenty kilometres up the road," the IVY member continued. She gestured. "We are your guard during your stay in Kusa. We will escort you to your meeting, and ensure that you arrive and depart safely. Do you understand?"

Naruto glanced at the IVY members that had surrounded him. "I think I do," he replied honestly.

The blond got the impression the leader of the IVY team was smiling.

"Good. Follow us."

Surrounded by ten men and women, Naruto was quickly escorted to the roadhouse. It was a rather plain-looking two-story inn, with peeling paint, creaking wood and boarded up windows. As he came closer, he caught glances of more IVY members that had surrounded the building. By the time he had reached the front door, he had counted no less than a hundred shinobi surrounding them- almost the size of Konoha's peacetime roster of ANBU. It was also with a tensing of his shoulders that Naruto realised that the IVY members had not been positioned to keep them _in_. Rather, they surrounded the inn in a defensive formation, a wall of soldiers to keep other things_ out_.

He shook his head dazedly as he stood at the door of the abandoned inn. With a deep breath, Naruto turned the doorknob and walked inside. The room was dirty and full of cobwebs. There was a bar in one corner of the room, upturned tables and chairs in the other. A fireplace roared in the other corner of the room, and three headbands glinted under the flickering of the flames as they turned to meet him.

"Good afternoon," Naruto greeted quietly, hiding all traces of his emotion. He bowed his head. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I represent the Village Hidden in Leaves. Shall we get down to business?"


	21. Preparations: Part II

**Chapter Twenty-One**

* * *

><p>A large circular table had been provided right in the middle of the abandoned inn. Seated around that table were five chairs, and in four of them were the representatives of the Five Great Hidden Villages. Their headbands gleamed under the flickering light of the fireplace, their eyes were closed and guarded and their faces emotionless.<p>

Representing the Village Hidden in Clouds, from the Land of Lightning, was a dark skinned woman with green eyes. She wore very formal clothes compared to the rest, a long sleeved, high-collared, emerald-green dress, a pair of long, silver earrings and a pair of sandals. She wore her light grey hair in a bun, and two bangs framed her pretty face.

Her name was Mabui, a B-rank Jonin, and the Fourth Raikage's personal assistant.

Representing the Village Hidden in Sand, from the Land of Wind, was a tall man with black hair that hung over his right eye. He wore a wrap of white and grey cloth around his head, a beige robe, and black trousers. He sported small goatees, and his single visible eye was dark.

His name was Yura, an A-rank Jonin, a veteran of the Third Shinobi War, and a newly instated member of the Fourth Kazekage's Advisory Council.

Representing the Village Hidden in Stone, from the Land of Earth, was a pale skinned woman with pupil-less pink eyes. She had short, cropped, black hair, and wore a dusty-brown flak vest over a baggy red turtleneck and fishnet stockings over her long legs. She was pretty in a rather rough way. Her hands were full of callouses and her upper arms were scratched and scarred.

Her name was Kurotsuchi, an A-ranked Jonin, a member of Iwa's elite ANBU- internationally designated as ROCK- and the granddaughter of the Third Tsuchikage. Rock

Representing the Village Hidden in Leaves, from the Land of Fire, was a young thirteen year old boy. He had spiky blonde hair and clear blue eyes. Three sets of lines were grooved into his cheeks, almost similar to a set of whiskers. He wore a dark green jonin vest over a black shirt, and a pair of loose pants. A utility belt was strapped to his waist, and a spool of wire hung from his right vest pouch.

His name was Uzumaki Naruto, an A-ranked Jonin, a member of Konoha's elite ANBU- internationally designated as TREE- and the Third Hokage's personal assistant. He was the youngest of the group, and had received assessing looks of grim respect as the other shinobi had recognised that they were in the presence of one of those outrageous young prodigies that Konoha tended to produce.

The fifth chair, where the representative from the Village Hidden in Mist, from the Land of Water, should be seating, remained empty. The other four representatives were quiet as they waited. Five minutes turned into ten, which turned into twenty, then thirty- then almost a full hour. The representatives' patience grew thinner and thinner. Mabui's pursed her lips to the point where it seemed she didn't have any. Yura's eye dropped lower and lower. Kurotsuchi's finger-taps grew faster and angrier. Naruto's polite smile became more and more fixed. Finally, Naruto let out a sigh that resonated throughout the room.

"Let the record show that the representative from the Village Hidden in Mist didn't arrive," he said. He made a note of the pile of papers in front of him, as did all of the other representatives.

"Not that we thought they would," Kurotsuchi muttered with a snort. "Unreliable bastards. Who knows what's going in that fucked-up village of theirs?"

Nobody commented on that, even as Kurotsuchi watched them carefully, fishing for information. She was mostly correct. The Second Civil War of the Land of Water had been raging for nearly five years now, and despite the best efforts of each of their respective Village's intelligence, nobody could say with any degree of reliable certainty just what exactly was happening in that misty, swampy archipelago. The borders had been closed, and nobody had been allowed in or out. Their borders were guarded zealously by the Mist's elite ANBU- internationally designated as TIDE- and few could match them in their local environment. Those lucky enough to escape were usually scooped up by the other Great Four Villages for their intelligence. Naruto knew that there were more than a few refugees living within the Land of Fire, given sanctuary after cooperating with the Department of Intelligence. From all the stories came a few common elements.

Firstly, the Land of Water was in a state of Civil War.

Secondly, the Fourth Mizukage had led a crusade against the powerful Bloodline Clans of the Mist, and the crusade continued to this day.

Thirdly, by accounts, the Second Civil War of Mizagakure was one of the bloodiest conflicts to have ever graced the Elemental Countries. Some of the stories emerging made the Second and Third Great Shinobi Wars look like picnic in comparison.

Children were burned at the stake. Unborn children were torn out of their screaming mother's womb and drowned. Men were hung, drawn, and quartered. Neighbour had turned upon neighbour, comrade against comrade. Lynch mobs had been formed, delivering their own brand of vigilante justice. The Bloodline Clans had retaliated, and entire villages had been wiped from the face of the Elemental Countries. It was a massacre that was repeated time and time again. The Fourth Mizukage was unrelenting in his crusade, the Bloodline Clans proved to be just as ruthless.

The entire situation befuddled Naruto, the concept of a civil war was completely alien, and he struggled to even picture Konoha in similar circumstances. Nonetheless, he put it in the back of his mind, and flipped to the next page of his folder.

"This will be the 30th International Chunin Exam, hosted by Konohagakure in the Land of Fire," Naruto recited from the sheet in front of him. "There will be three stages. One stage will be based in a non-combat setting, with a focus on intelligence and information gathering. The next stage with be based in a hostile and foreign environment, with a focus on survival techniques, teamwork, and retrieval. The last stage will be a tournament available to the public, where genin will fight each other in a series of one-on-one duels."

Naruto stopped, and slid a piece of paper across the table to each of the other three representatives.

"Here's the date and time of the Third Stage," Naruto said. He absently scratched the back of his head, and leaned back on his chair. "If your Kage want to attend, they need to arrive at Konoha a day before, and they'll need to leave a day after this date. We're also going to need to know their travel routes so we can provide escorts."

"And an ambush, no doubt," the Kazekage's representative, Yura, scoffed quietly. The Raikage's representative, Mabui, didn't look too impressed, and Kurotsuchi was openly scowling. "We're not in the habit of handing out the personal itinerary of our Kage, even to our allies."

Naruto wasn't surprised at that. It was common knowledge that the Third Kazekage had mysteriously disappeared, presumably assassinated, during a journey to meet with the Wind Lord. This led to a series of smaller conflicts, where Iwa tested the defences along the border, and Suna ANBU- internationally designated as DUNE- roamed unchecked in search of their Kage. The culmination of those events, combined with the disastrous failed mission by Konoha's S-ranked 'White Fang' led to the bloody conflict known as the Third Great Shinobi War.

"Understand it from our point of view," Naruto said patiently. "The Hokage, and the Fire Lord, do not want foreign S-rank shinobi running around the Land of Fire unchecked, especially given recent events. If they're not willing to work with us, then they're not welcome."

Yura folded his arms, his one visible eye narrowed, while Mabui placed her hands on lap primly. Kurotsuchi just looked annoyed.

"The terms of the Chunin Exam Act specifically state that all participating teams have the right to be observed by the ruling shinobi of their village," Mabui said. Her voice was melodious, quiet, and polite- if not a tad cool. "Any of the Five Villages hosting the exams _must_ make accommodations."

"There's a difference between making accommodations and letting the other Kage do what they want in our country," Naruto said calmly, although the polite smile on his face was getting wider and wider. "They are welcome to watch the Third Stage. They're not welcome to do what they want." His smile grew. "We don't know what they'll do."

"You doubt the word of the Raikage?" Mabui's voice was distinctively cold as she placed her well-manicured hands on the table.

"Our Village has long memories," Naruto offered. "As do the Clans."

Mabui stilled at that, while Kurotsuchi snorted in amusement. The Fourth Raikage's attempt at the bloodline theft of the Hyuuga Clan was a well-known story, and Kumo had suffered a bit of a client boycott as the events had spread through the Elemental Countries. Konoha's Department of Intelligence had made sure many of Kumo's top clients, including the Lightning Lord, had known exactly what had happened, and the public backlash had been interesting. Profits for the three years after the Hyuuga Incident had been down almost sixty-percent, while Konoha's had grown by almost a third.

"Here are the terms of your Kage's journey through the Land of Fire," Naruto continued. "Each Kage is permitted to travel with a squad of twenty-four guards. Once they reach our borders, they will rendezvous with a platoon of Konoha's ANBU. That's twenty-five of your shinobi for twenty-five of our shinobi."

Yura appeared as if grudgingly approved with the number.

"They will then be escorted directly to Konoha," Naruto continued. "Once in Konoha, each Kage will be permitted to travel with four of their guards. The rest will be provided with accommodation outside the Village. Your departure from the village will happen the same way. The ANBU Platoon will escort you to your border, and then leave."

Those were the terms that Naruto had been given by the Hokage and the Jonin Commander, and those were the terms that he had to stick by.

"We can accept those," Mabui said after a few moments.

"That's fine," Kurotsuchi drawled lazily. She leaned back in her chair, and flung her feet up onto the table, giving them all a mocking grin. "Even ten of our shinobi could take on twenty-five of yours. What do we call your ANBU again? Meat-shields?"

Naruto knew she was referencing a battle that had occurred during the middle of the Third Shinobi War, where three platoons of Konoha's ANBU- over seventy five shinobi- had been utterly destroyed by Iwa's two demon-hosts, Roshi ,'The Volcano', and Han, 'The Burning Haze'. Steam. It had been a significant loss for Konoha and a tremendous victory for Iwa.

"I'm sorry," Naruto began, with a wide, polite smile- that was beginning to border on manic, "I can't hear you over the sound of two of your divisions being wiped out by one of those meat-shields."

Yura openly laughed, while Kurotsuchi scowled. The Yellow Flash was never a good topic to bring up around an Iwa Nin.

One of the last battles of the Third Shinobi War saw a vital supply bridge destroyed, leaving two divisions of Iwa's shinobi stranded behind enemies lines. With supplies dwindling, the Iwa shinobi had launched a potentially devastating offensive towards Konoha's border- only to be repelled by a single man- the Yellow Flash. Nobody was sure what exactly happened, only that the Yellow Flash had utilised his Flying Thunder God technique in an unprecedented fashion. There had been a giant flash of yellow light; tri-pong kunai had rained from the skies, and in little less than a minute, two entire divisions- over two thousand shinobi- laid dead on the ground.

It was an act never before seen in the Elemental Countries, one that had earned Namikaze Minato the moniker of 'The Yellow Flash', promotion to the legendary 'S-rank', and an update to the Bingo Book to include the warning 'flee on sight!'.

"Was there anything else that needed to be covered regarding the Kage's travel plans?" Naruto asked. "Right. Then, let's talk about the composition of the Third Stage. The Hokage has decided that we need twelve genin to reach the Third Stage of the exams. Of those twelve, we want four of the slots for Konoha's Genin. We're willing to offer the other Great Villages two slots each."

The Chunin Exams were a public spectacle. Thousands came from all over to watch them. If a Village did well in the exams, there were quite often an increase in mission requests from those that had been watching who wanted the 'best'. The economic and political benefits from winning the Chunin Exams were not insignificant. As such, the Five Great Hidden Villages did what they did best- they cheated.

"Four slots?" Kurotsuchi said incredulously. "That's a third of all of the open positions!"

"It's an outrageous condition," Mabui added.

"The Kazekage will not stand for it," Yura murmured, his elbows on the table as he rested his chin on his hands.

"Konoha was the one who bore the brunt of the Sky Nin's hatred," Naruto reminded. He couldn't stop the unconscious tensing of his hands as his thoughts went back to those times. "The Sky Nin hated all of the Five Great Villages, and we were the ones who stopped them from wiping you all out, at a huge cost to ourselves," He stopped, and smiled thinly. "Consider this our bill for saving your life."

"The Chunin Exam Act stipulates that each of the Villages receives an equal number of positions for the Third Stage," Mabui rebutted coolly. "Four and two is hardly equal."

"Besides," Kurotsuchi began, with a dangerous gleam in her eye, "You may have fought the war, but you've gotten all of the spoils. I wonder how long it will be before we see Leaf Nin on missions using Sky Nin technology."

Yura said nothing, but looked displeased. Naruto was frowning, and he double-checked his notes. There had been some room to negotiate allocated there, as if Nara Shikaku had suspected that the other villages wouldn't have been happy.

"Fine," Naruto said in a clipped voice. "We'll take three. You'll have two each. That leaves an extra three spots left for the minor villages to fight over."

"Three and two is still not equal," Mabui said. Her eyes were blank. "Nonetheless, we'll agree to those terms."

"Tch," Kurotsuchi spat out. She put her hands behind her head. "An extra slot isn't going to help you out anyway. Iwa accepts."

Yura hesitated. "Before Suna accepts, I need to inform you of the decision made by the Kazekage and his Advisory Council."

He cleared his throat, almost uncomfortably, as the rest of the occupants turned to face him.

"Due to recent budget cuts implemented by the Wind Lord, the Kazekage has decided that Suna needs to begin aggressively pursuing an advertising campaign. As such, for these Chunin Exams, the Kazekage will be sending his three children as the Genin representatives for our Village. This team will include Gaara of the Sand."

The _Jinchuuriki_ of the One-Tailed Demon Racoon.

"Are you insane?" Kurotsuchi practically exploded. She jumped to her feet. "You can't deploy a demonhost to the Chunin Exams."

"There's nothing that says we can't," Yura rebutted sharply. "Gaara is still of genin rank, and his abilities will make a great showing of our Village."

"Isn't he unstable?" Mabui asked. She put a finger to her lips, pondering. "I'm quite certain I've heard that the demonhost is somewhat deranged. It's quite dangerous to put him there with all of our genin."

"This is going to be the Eleventh Chunin Exams all over again!" Kurotsuchi spat out. She looked furious.

She had a reason to. Three years after the fall of the Fourth Hokage, Iwagakure had decided to make a play and use the impression of Konoha's declining power to boost up their clientele. They had sent off their best and brightest genin to the Chunin Exams, which were being held in the Village Hidden in Mist. It was never clear on what exactly happened, but many suspected that the Fourth Mizukage used the exams as an excuse to gather the other village's potentially powerful soldiers and eliminate them. Konoha has also sent in two teams of genin, escorted by a Jonin.

None of them had come back, as had none of the teams sent by any of the other villages.

It had almost caused the Fourth Great Shinobi War. Four months after those events, even as tensions were beginning to simmer, the Land of Water had closed its borders as the first reports of massive civil unrest began to filter out. Mizugakure had been locked in a state of civil war ever since then, one that to all reports was still occurring right to this very day.

"Konoha has already agreed," Naruto cut in, before the other two representatives could start arguing. "Containment procedures are in place, and the situation will be monitored carefully."

"This is unacceptable," Mabui said flatly.

"You can always pull out your genin teams in protest," Naruto said idly.

That stopped the woman short. Naruto didn't know the exact details of the Fourth Raikage's wishes, but he would bet the First Hokage's necklace that the other Kage was quite interested in seeing the state of Konoha for himself.

"That said," Naruto continued, and he fixed Yura with a look. "You better make sure he stays under control, and tell him to show a little restraint."

Gaara was already a known A-ranked shinobi, a prodigy in the rising who was said to have no conscience, and an endless appetite for blood. It was almost cruel, sending somebody like that against the genin.

"That isn't good enough!" Kurotsuchi snarled, slamming her hand down on the table. "I've heard that your demonhost kills his comrades! How can we trust him with the lives of our genin?"

"Because the Kazekage gives you his word!" Yura replied back heatedly.

"Like that counts for anything!" Kurotsuchi sneered. "Iwa knows all about the value of your Kazekage's 'word'!"

Yura stilled. "What's that supposed to mean!" he snarled.

Kurotsuchi smiled nastily. "I'm sure Pakura of the Scorch Release would be able to tell you all about how the Fourth Kazekage tried to sacrifice her life, just for the possibility of an alliance with the Mist."

"Rumour has it that the Golden Storm _is_ quite paranoid," Mabui murmured quietly, but her voice was heard by all. "He doesn't take competition very well. I've heard that he's even sent shinobi to kill his son, although they've all failed."

Yura stood up so fast that the chair behind him fell to the ground. It made a loud crash, causing each of the other two representatives to jump to their feet. The air was thick with hostility, years and decades of bad blood and old grudges fuelling their animosity.

"I will not let you stand there and insult the Kazekage!" Yura growled.

"I just did," Kurotsuchi declared challenging. Her pupil-less eyes leered at him, her muscles coiled and tense, ready for action. "What are you going to do about it?"

"Guys! Settle down!" Naruto tried to call out.

Mabui was shaking her head. "As to be expected from the Iwa and Suna Nin," she murmured, "Violent barbarians, the lot of them."

Kurotsuchi twitched. "It's a bit rich coming from you," she snapped, "Considering your village is in the process of raising an army. Who are you going to go to war with _this time_?"

Mabui scowled prettily. "Konoha is the one rampaging through the Land of the Hot Springs," she countered coolly. "We will take what measures we feel in order to protect our borders."

Hang on a minute.

"We're there to stop the same mad cult that killed the Third Raikage," Naruto argued loudly. His smile had disappeared, and he looked annoyed. "Konoha has a policy of not starting wars." He smiled thinly. "We just finish what you lot begin."

"The Third Shinobi War was Konoha's fault!" This came unexpectedly from Yura. "You sent a S-rank shinobi into our borders. How did you think we would respond?"

"It was an intelligence gathering mission only!" Naruto responded heatedly. He clenched his fists. "You were incompetent enough to lose your fucking Kage, and then you get upset when the other villages want to see if you're about to implode or something?"

"Of all the villages, Konoha came out of the Third War the best," Kurotsuchi said. Her hands were trembling, a vicious snarl on her face. "That butcher of a Fourth Hokage massacred our countrymen!"

"You attacked us!" Naruto roared. "What did you think we would do?"

"There were genin in those divisions!" Kurotsuchi shouted back. Her eyes were somewhat wild. "There were medics, and logistic officers, and innocent kids who didn't have a fucking clue what was going on. The Fourth Hokage killed them all regardless! That's the work of a monster!"

"He was a hero!" Naruto shouted.

"The Third Tsuchikage is no better," Mabui put in slyly, fuelling the antagonism of the arguments. "How many has he killed over the years? You can't judge Konoha by one standard and your own Kage by another."

"Coming from the country that tried to kidnap a little girl for your medical experiments and breeding programs," Yura butted in coldly. "I wonder, if her father hadn't interfered, what would that Hyuuga girl be doing right now? She'd probably be on her back, legs apart, forced to give birth for the good of your village."

"Given the dominance of the bloodline clans in Konoha, the Fourth Raikage did what he thought had to be done," Mabui countered.

"Then he's an idiot!" Yura snapped.

Mabui's cool façade began to fracture, and for the next few minutes the group of representatives verbally tore into each other. Even Naruto wasn't immune as he rose to defend his Village's reputation again and again. Just when it seemed like it would come to blows, with shinobi reaching for weapon pouches and chakra stirring in the air, Yura slammed his fist down on one of the walls. Then it happened.

The shock of the blow travelled through the wall. Cracks formed, and a ripping noise filled the air. One of the dusty and faded picture frames fell to the group with a loud crash. A bookcase toppled over, sending tomes flying through the air. One of the books hit an upturned table, causing a chair to fall off, and a loud crack filled the air as rotten wooden leg snapped. Another of the books hit Naruto in the back of the head. With tempers high, the reactions varied.

"Dammit, old man! Stop throwing shit at me!" Naruto howled.

"Ah! Kumo apologises for the Raikage, and will make full reparations!" Mabui said, bowing stiffly at the waist.

"Stop breaking your hips, you geezer!" Kurotsuchi snapped.

"My deepest apologies, Kazekage-sama!" Yura pleaded.

A silence fell in the room, and each of the representatives regarded each other with surprise. Naruto's eyes were widened, his mouth falling open. Then, he closed it and let out a rueful chuckle. The tension broke. Kurotsuchi was snickering, Mabui had a curve to her lips, and Yura was just shaking his head in exasperation. Shaking his head and chuckling, Naruto made his way back to his seat. Silence fell quickly, but it was more comfortable than what it was before.

"Right," Naruto said. "It looks like we're all in the same boat. The Kage will do what the Kage want to do. Let's just make this work so we can go home, and our bosses don't have to tell us off, and yell at us, and drag us out to the Training Grounds to use us a pincushion."

"Or a dumbbell," Mabui added.

"Or a horse," Kurotsuchi said glumly.

"Or a sling shot," Yura supplied, and shook his head at the looks he got. "Trust me, you don't want to know."

Mabui giggled first, and Naruto leaned forward, looking interested. Kurotsuchi looked around and gave the Suna Nin a little smirk.

"Actually," she said. "It looks like we do."

* * *

><p>The rest of the meeting ran rather smoothly. The tension had died down, and while the other representatives weren't happy about some of the details, they had all realised that in the end it really wasn't up to them at all. Naruto felt sorry for the Third Hokage and the endless communiqués he would be receiving from the other Kage- but then he remembered how much that old bastard could piss him off, and then he wasn't sorry.<p>

Perhaps there was still some trauma-induced issues lurking in his brain, but once the meeting was over the representatives from the Villages took it in turns to relay just exactly why their Kage was the most demanding, and for perhaps the very first time Naruto was able to vent to people who understood _exactly_ what he was going through. Despite their legendary skill, their monstrous strength and their immense political and personal power, all of the Kage seemed to have one thing in common. They all liked bossing their poor underlings around.

The meeting was over by the afternoon, and the representatives stepped out form the abandoned roadside inn and into the deserted highway. The demon-masked IVY members observed them from behind their creepy masks.

"They're creepy little fuckers, aren't they?" Kurotsuchi observed critically, eying the nearest IVY member carefully. "The ANBU of Kusagakure, the Cult of the Abyss. What a scary name."

Naruto agreed. He heard a light, feminine chuckle, as the leader of the IVY squad appeared before him again. Past the woman's mask, he could see a green headband wrapped around wisps of silver hair.

"You'll have to forgive the Leaf and Rock Nin," she commented to Yura and Mabui, although she seemed to be looking at Naruto and Kurotsuchi. "They've never really liked us. See, they like to use our land as a playground to settle all of their squabbles, and then they get offended when we decide to kill a few squads and blow up a few supply lines."

Kurotsuchi grinned nastily. "Not that it helped you much," she said darkly.

"Kurotsuchi…" Naruto interjected, sighing quietly. "If you're going to start a war, could you wait until we all leave? The Hokage will beat the crap out of me if he finds out I help start the Fourth Great Shinobi War."

"Yeah, yeah," Kurotsuchi scoffed. She turned around, and began walking away. The slender kunoichi raised an arm and waved at them indifferently as she left. "Bye, bye. Let's hope we don't meet on the battlefield. I'd hate to be the one to kill you all."

"That's nice," Mabui said blandly. Her fingers were twitching, and her eyes narrowed. "She's certainly quite…ah… spirited."

"There is a term in my people's native language for women like that," Yura said gravely. He paused for effect. "_Bitch_."

Naruto snorted.

"Yura of Suna, Mabui of Kumo," the leader of the IVY squad called out from a few meters away. "Your escorts are here to lead you out of the Land of Grass."

"Good afternoon, gentlemen," Mabui said solemnly. She disappeared in a flicker of movement, and a moment later so did a group of the demon-masked figures.

"We have a name for people like that too," Yura confessed. He grinned. "Babe."

Naruto made a noise of agreement in the back of his throat. "Safe journey, Yura," he wished, and waved as Yura departed.

The leader of the IVY group was waiting for him, and Naruto and the Hidden Grass ANBU began to head back to the Land of Fire at a moderate pace.

"You know, my people also have names for powerful kids like you," she mentioned casually, not even pretending she hadn't been eavesdropping.

"Oh?" Naruto uttered. "What?"

The woman turned to face him, her demon face leering. "Monsters," she said cheerfully. "You're the kind of dangerous and fanatical prodigy that would destroy us all if it meant helping your village." She turned away. "It scares us."

Naruto really didn't have a comment for that.

In a way, he supposed it was true.

* * *

><p>After losing his escort at the border between the Land of Grass and the Land of Fire, Naruto made it back to Konoha at a good pace. He arrived just as the sun was beginning to set, the sky aflame with hues of orange and purple. After reporting back to the Hokage, he was summoned to a meeting.<p>

The Hokage sat in the middle of a large room, around a circular table. The lights were on, and Naruto could make out the presence of several of the Jonin Guard. Sitting around the table were twelve of Konoha's Jonin Captains, each in charge of a prominent genin team. In the corner of the room, Naruto noticed the representative for the Shinobi Academy, Umino Iruka, standing at attention.

It appeared that for once, Hatake Kakashi was on time, and he was even paying attention too. There was no sign of his little orange book, although he looked like he was completely disinterested in what was happening.

Sarutobi Asuma was also there, representing the genin of the second generation of the Shi-Cho-Ino formation, a tried and true tactical squad. He could barely meet his father's eyes, and ignored Naruto completely. He seemed more interested in the pale-skinned, dark-haired woman at the other end of the table.

Yuhi Kurenai was almost a stark comparison to some of the other Jonin in the room. Where Hatake Kakashi had been a prodigy, hitting genin at 6, chunin at 8 and Jonin at 12, Kurenai had begun her shinobi career as your average run-of-the-mill genin. She had made genin at nine, and it had taken her four years to gain her Chunin rank. After a long stint in the Chunin Military Police, she had applied for Jonin rank, and had taken her exams almost a year ago. After showing some impressive talent with _genjutsu_, one of the harder shinobi arts to master, she had made Jonin and gained her A-rank status. While most Jonin waited before taking on a genin team, Kurenai had been surprisingly eager and applied for one almost immediately.

There was a commotion at the door, and Naruto was jerked out of his thoughts. He looked up from his position behind the Hokage- although wincing when he was barely able to see past the high back of Sarutobi's chair- and watched as Maito Gai appeared. Hair gleaming, eyebrows wriggling and a bright smile on his face, Konoha's premier expert in hand-to-hand combat looked absolutely horrified when he spotted Kakashi leaning back lazily in his chair.

"Yo, Gai," the silver-haired man called out. "You're late."

"It…I…there was a cat a stuck in a tree!" Gai stumbled. His cheeks reddened as he grew more and more embarrassed. "And Lee got it out, but then the branch fell on a house, and an old woman dropped her groceries from the noise, and a stray dog stole her package of meat, and Tenten had to go and…" He trailed off.

There was moment of silence.

"Wow." Kakashi deadpanned. "What a lame excuse."

"Curse you, my eternal rival!" Gai snapped, but he took a seat amongst all of the other snickering Jonin.

The Hokage cleared his throat, although he seemed to look faintly amused. "Welcome," he greeted quietly. The Jonin quietened. "We're here today to discuss the upcoming Chunin Exams. For those who don't know, Konoha will be hosting them, and we're here to decide which of your genin teams will be applying."

"Ah, they come quickly," mused a tall, lanky man. He scratched messy hair. "I don't think I'll nominate Team Three, Hokage-sama. It might be better if they gain a bit more experience. Besides, honestly, I don't think they'll put on a good show."

Naruto clicked the pen, adjusted his clipboard, and on his piece of paper put a cross next to Team Three.

"Team One is out," a moustached older man with greying hair mumbled. He shook his head dazedly. "The dumbarse broke the other dumbarse's ankle, bad enough that the medics say that he has to be off of it for two weeks."

Naruto crossed off Team One.

"I nominate Team Seven," Kakashi broke in, his tone light and his voice sounding like he was entering a dog into a show. "Yep," he added brightly as most of the room stared at him in surprise. "It'll be good for them. Might bloody them up a little bit, if you know what I mean."

Naruto hesitated, and looked at the Hokage, but the old man appeared to have his eyes close and gave no indication of his approval or disapproval. With a mental shrug, Naruto ticked off Team Seven.

Kurenai was frowning. She appeared to be indecisive for a moment, and then her face hardened. "Hokage-sama, I nominate Team Eight for the Chunin Exams."

Sarutobi's eyes opened a fraction.

Asuma was next. "I nominate Team Ten," he declared, with a challenging look at Kakashi.

"And I, Maito Gai, do nominate my team for the Chunin Exams! Let the burning spirit of competition envelop us all in the fires of youth!" Gai shouted. He lifted a fist, and struck a pose.

"Team Five can have another go, Hokage-sama," one of the other Jonin said. The leader of Team Three sniggered, and the Jonin for Team Five rolled his eyes. "I know, I know. Hey, perhaps Kabuto will actually get it right this time." He shook his head resignedly. "Probably not though."

"I thought he was working at the hospital," Team Two's Jonin leader commented. She was a thin, unattractive woman with a face that looked like it had been hit one too many times. "I'm surprised he'd keep going for it."

"The Hospital wants him to put on a good show," Team Five's Jonin said. "They seem to think it'd be a good publicity boost, not just for the clients, but also as a way of attracting other shinobi into the medical department. Kabuto just doesn't care. He's happy where he is."

"He's going to break the Eternal Genin's record if he keeps this up," Asuma mused.

"Sir, if I may?" Somebody interrupted, and Umino Iruka stepped forward. He seemed hesitant in front of all of the higher-ranked shinobi, but pressed on anyways as the Hokage nodded. "I'm concerned about how many of the rookie genin have been nominated. I know they're genin now, but they were academy students not too long ago, and it's hard to think that they're at the point where they should try for the Chunin Exams."

"Don't worry," Kakashi said cheerfully. "They are, so it's okay!"

"He has a point," Gai said. He eyed his rival seriously. "The Chunin Exams are dangerous. My kids are good, but even I held them back a year to make sure they were ready. Lots of them don't make it to the Third Stage, and some of them have died because they weren't ready."

"Asuma, Kurenia, Kakashi," the Hokage spoke. The Jonin instinctively straightened at their leader's voice. "Are you sure that your genin are ready?"

Asuma and Kurenai both responded with an affirmative, but Kakashi seemed to be thinking about it.

"Well, probably not," he conceded a few moments later. "But, hey, that's half the fun!"

Iruka looked horrified.

"Hmm," Sarutobi murmured. He eyed Naruto out of the corner of his eye. "Naruto, what do you think?"

Naruto frowned, and scratched the back of his head with his free hand. "I don't know about many of the other teams, but I would approve of Kakashi's team entering," he said, much to Iruka's displeasure. "Uchiha Sasuke is definitely good and could make the rank. Sarutobi Konohamaru has what it takes to survive, and he just might impress some people. As for the girl-"

"She needs a wake-up call," Kakashi said flatly. "A little life and death situation might put things into perspective for her." He paused. "Although, the last one didn't…"

"So be it," the Hokage sighed. "Let the record show that five more genin teams from Konoha will enter the Chunin Exams. That puts the total count of applicants from Konoha at 87."

The meeting finished soon after, and Naruto was dismissed. As the rest of the Jonin began filing out, chatting amongst themselves, the young blond teen jerked when an arm came around his neck.

"You little punk," Kakashi said cheerfully, pulling Naruto into him. He mussed up Naruto's hair, his one exposed eye crinkling up. "Congratulations on making Jonin, brat."

"Ow!" Naruto protested.

He lashed out with a quick jab at Kakashi's ribs, and the other Jonin had to let go in order to dodge. Naruto fixed his hair up with a scowl as Kakashi stood back. Maito Gai was standing with him, and he threw Naruto a brilliant smile.

"Congratulations, young Naruto!" he boomed. He flashed Naruto a quick thumbs up. "You're powers of youth are an inspiration to all those that watch! Lee will be most excited for you! Perhaps you will become his eternal rival!"

Kakashi chuckled at Naruto's horrified expression. "Gai's just jealous," he mentioned casually. "He didn't make Jonin until he was 15. That means you're better than him. Of course," he added, "I made Jonin at 12, so don't get any ideas."

Naruto really didn't have anything to say to that.

"Anyway, it's celebration time!" Kakashi said cheerfully. He grabbed Naruto by one arm as Gai grabbed him by the other. "The Jonin Lounge awaits! It's time to give you alcohol until you get drunk, throw up and make an idiot of yourself in front of all of your peers!"

"No, wait…what? Hokage-sama!" Naruto called out desperately.

The Hokage had his eyes closed again, and Naruto could have sworn he could hear the old man snoring. Kakashi chuckled at his protests, and mussed his hair up again.

"Don't worry!" He said happily. "That's what happened to me, and nothing really bad happened! Well," he added, "I did piss off this one redhead, and she did wrap me up with chains and hang me up by my ankle…" He trailed off. "Huh."

"Crap," Naruto uttered.

* * *

><p>The Jonin Longue was an establishment that catered exclusively for shinobi who had reached Jonin rank. With a shinobi force of approximately ten-thousand, no more than five or six percent of the population would ever gain the rank at any one time. Of those five or six hundred Jonin, there was only ever half of that number in Konoha at any one time. The rest could be found spread at around the country, some running the Chunin Military Police, the organisation responsible for law and order in the Land of Fire, some making up teams, platoons and divisions that were responsible for Border Patrol, and others on miscellaneous missions.<p>

For those that were left, the Jonin Lounge was a popular destination if you happened to have some time available. It was located in Sector 17, one of Konoha's Commercial Districts. The inside was made up of a dark stained wood, and large glowing lanterns hung from the roof. Circular tables made up the middle of the room, and booths surrounded the walls. There was a set of doors for the toilets on one end, and a large bar at the other end.

At the moment, Naruto was squeezed in between Kakashi and Gai as the two took one of the red-velvet booths and sat down. He scowled as Gai let out a theatrical sigh. It was moderately busy that night, and there were at least thirty or so other Jonin around them. Naruto spotted Asuma and Kurenai on the other end of the room, before Kakashi blocked his view of them. He blinked, readjusting his eyes, and noted that Kakashi was reading his little orange book.

"Oi, Rikku!" Gai called out to the burly bartender at the other end of the room. The eccentric Jonin grinned, and with a flourish extended three fingers. "The usual, for three!"

"Oi, Kakashi," Naruto muttered. The air in the lounge was humid, and it didn't help that he was practically sandwiched in between Kakashi and Gai. "I swear, if you get an erection while I'm sitting here, I _will_ kill you and make it look like an accident."

Kakashi just let out a little perverted giggle and flipped a page.

A pair of Jonin entered the bar, waving a greeting at Gai, and eying Naruto curiously. He managed a tentative smile, but it disappeared and he let out a wheeze as one of Gai's elbows jabbed him in the ribs as the man enthusiastically waved at the newcomers.

The drinks arrived and Kakashi put away his book.

"Right," he said cheerfully. "Bottoms up, right?"

He grabbed his drink, and Naruto actually watched with some anticipation. Just how would Kakashi actually drink that with his mask on? His eyes narrowed, Naruto watched Kakashi unblinkingly, while the Jonin fussed on the glass and adjusted his grip. Suddenly, a pair of legs appeared right in front of him. Gai had jumped up on the table and was clearing his throat. Naruto scowled, and darted his head around. Eyes wide, he watched Kakashi put down the now-empty bottle.

"That was good!" the silver-haired Jonin exclaimed pleasantly. He let out a little burp. "Not a bad brand, eh, Naruto?"

Naruto stared at Kakashi suspiciously, his eyes narrowed. "I hate you," was all he said, before Gai reached down and yanked him up.

"Attention, my faithful, happy, Jonin friends!" Gai called out, his loud voice booming all around the Jonin Lounge. Conversation stilled and Gai grinned, his teeth sparkling. "Today, we celebrate a newcomer to the ranks! Uzumaki Naruto has been promoted to Jonin, and his youthful exuberance will be a credit to Konoha! Let's all raise our glasses to him!"

Naruto watched, his cheeks flushed and feeling quite embarrassed, as many of the Jonin raised their glasses at him.

"Uzumaki Naruto!" they toasted.

A bottle was thrust in his hand and the crowd cheered as Naruto took his first drink of the alcohol. It burned his throat, and the flavour seared into his tongue. He spluttered, liquid dribbling from his lips, but managed a gulp. A resounding wave of cheers filled the room, and Naruto felt a strange, sweltering burning at his heart that had nothing to do with the alcohol. He looked up at Gai, who smiled kindly down at him and thumped him on the back, and then glanced down when Kakashi, still absorbed in his book, nonetheless reached out and patted him on the ankle.

"Thanks," Naruto muttered to Gai earnestly. His cheeks still felt flushed, his lips stretched and there was a strange lightness within him.

Gai chuckled, and jumped off the table. Naruto made to follow him, but Kakashi's hand snapped up and gripped his ankle.

"Speech!" the silver-haired, lanky man called out. He flipped a page of his book with his thumb, but nonetheless radiated a sense of smugness.

"Speech! Speech! Speech!" many of the other patrons chanted.

Naruto was left standing there, flummoxed, with all eyes on him. He cleared his throat nervously as the men and women watched him expectantly. "Um…well, first off, let's give a big round of 'Fuck you!' to Kakashi," he managed to say, and there was some laughter. "Apart from that, there's…welI…um…I look forward to working with you."

Most of the Jonin clapped and cheered, although there was an obnoxious boo and a cry of 'you suck' from somebody at the back of the room. Without looking up, though, Kakashi's hand blurred and one of the bottles smacked into the chair next to the rude Jonin. Gai frowned, but many others laughed.

The rest of the night was a bit of a blur. Naruto knew that there were a few more drinks, and he talked to more Jonin than he remembered. He knew more than a few shinobi thanks to his work at the Missions Assignment Desk, but he was once again taken back by just how many shinobi Konoha fielded as the other Jonin chatted about their positions and missions. Many of them were extremely interested in him, some comparing his rise through the ranks to Kakashi- something that the grey-haired man snorted at. The Blitz was a favourite topic for more than a few of them, and Naruto found that with the alcohol in his system, it was easier to talk about. He recounted most of the battles against the Sky Nin, although many of the details were left out. One of the Jonin was actually being sent to towards the border of the Land of Hot Springs, and had been extremely interested in hearing about the Cult of Jashin.

By the time Naruto had finished, it was well into the early hours of the morning. Gai was spread out on the table, completely under, his cheeks rosy red as he snored loudly. Kakashi was leaning back on his chair, still reading his book, his feet up on Gai's back. Most of the other Jonin had left, and Naruto waved a single goodbye to Kakashi before he too walked out the door.

The night breeze was beautiful, and Konoha was quiet. Despite the slight ringing in his head, Naruto felt quite fine, and took the time to walk through the darkened streets. Despite the tranquillity, he knew that all around him countless shinobi were working in the shadows, counter-intelligence officers tracking possible espionage leaks, members of the Jonin Guard patrolling sensitive areas, and the Chunin Military Police making their rounds. Nonetheless, he was surprised when he turned a corner and almost barrelled into somebody.

"Oh, sorry!" Naruto exclaimed as he righted himself.

The other man patted himself off. He was dressed in a dark robe that covered him from neck to toe, and Naruto could see spiky dark hair peeking out from the back of his head. There was a strap across it, and the young blond was faintly amused when the man turned his head. He was wearing a curious mask, orange with black swirls moving outwards. A single eye-hole was visible, but Naruto couldn't see past it. There was a headband strapped to his arm, although the metal was dented and it looked to have seen better days.

"That's my bad!" the other man chuckled quietly. His voice was a bit hoarse, if he wasn't used to speaking. Then, he started, and peered at Naruto closely. "Say, aren't you the Right Hand of God?"

"Some people call me that," Naruto said. He tried to keep his chest from swelling. It was such a cool moniker!

The man laughed, and it was almost infectious. Naruto couldn't help it and he chuckled too.

"What?" he asked, still chuckling.

"Sorry," the masked-man said. "It's just that- I heard that name, and the first thing I thought was 'I wonder what the Hokage _does_ with that hand'."

Naruto grimaced and the man chuckled again. "Yeah, that's what he said too," he said unhappily. Then, eager to change the subject, he asked, "Sorry, I don't think I've met you before."

"You have, actually," the man answered, almost knowingly. He waved off Naruto's embarrassment. "It's fine. Compared to somebody like you, I'm nobody. When they're not throwing explosives at me, my friends call me Tobi."

"Strange friends," Naruto said with a smile.

Tobi chuckled. "Ah, you don't know the half of it," he said easily. He paused, seemingly contemplated something. "Can I just say sorry now?" He asked.

"What?"

In a blur of movement, the man lashed out, and Naruto's eyes widened. He ducked, and slide backwards to avoid a sudden kick. His sandals skidded on the stone paving and his hands came up to form a guard, ready for the next attack. Perhaps it was the alcohol, but his stomach felt like it was burning, his heart beginning to pump furiously.

None came. Tobi laughed nervously, and waved Naruto down. "Sorry, sorry," he said, chuckling awkwardly. "I just wanted to see how fast you are. I haven't met a prodigy like you since Kakashi, and I was… just, I'm sorry."

Naruto scowled. Then, he sighed, and straightened. "I almost attacked you," he warned.

"I'm sure that would have been scary," Tobi said, sounding very serious.

"Do you know Kakashi then?" Naruto asked, picking up on the other man's words.

Tobi seemed to still. "Once upon a time," he said after a few moments. "He rose up through the ranks quickly, leaving a lot of people behind. I bet he doesn't remember half of them."

"Ah," Naruto uttered.

"Well, I'll leave you alone. I have things to do, like I'm sure you do," Tobi commented. "Stay safe, Uzumaki Naruto. I think it'd be a bit inconvenient if you died."

"I think so too," Naruto said frankly. He paused as the other man turned around and began to walk away. "Hey, Tobi!" he called out. Tobi paused. "I gotta ask. What's with the mask?"

"Oh, this?" Tobi gestured at his spiralling orange mask. "Once upon a time, my face met a hard surface, and the hard surface won. Long story short, I wear this now. Otherwise, babies would scream, children would cry, and all the other men would be totally jealous of me, since all of the chicks would dig the scars."

"I'm sure they would," Naruto agreed with a smile.

He waved, and turned around, heading back to the Hokage's Residence. Tobi watched him go, his robes strangely still in the cool breeze. A red light gleamed behind the single eye-hole of his mask as he stared after the young demonhost.

"So that's Uzumaki Naruto," he murmured. "How interesting."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Again, a big thank-you to DLP for their help. **


	22. Attack at the Manufactorium! Part I

**Attack at the Manufactorium!**

* * *

><p>The week after his promotion to Jonin, and the impromptu celebration at the Jonin's Lounge, Naruto was once again hard at work. The details for the Chunin Exams had been confirmed amongst the other three great villages, and the date had been set. Passports had been shipped off, the Border Guard were readied and the travel routes of the other Kage were painstakingly plotted out. Konoha's Intelligence worked hard to ensure that these routes remained secret. No other village was to know how each of the Kage was to arrive, and Konoha could afford no mistakes on this. The Land of Fire, and Konoha, could ill afford the risk of an international incident if some group with a grudge mounted an attack on a diplomatic envoy within their borders. Despite the dangers, the Village was well-prepared, and it was soon time to begin the festivities. In a week's time, the 30th International Chunin Exams were to be held in Konoha, and there was much work to be done.<p>

Visitors had begun to stream into the Village, and it wouldn't be long until every hotel and apartment was full. The presence of Leaf Nin in the village almost doubled overnight, and the Chunin Military Police were run ragged as they tried maintaining some kind of order in the hustle and bustle of work. While many of the influx of visitors were of the working class, farmers and workers and soldiers, there was a significant number of local and foreign nobility arriving at the gates every day. Often escorted by shinobi - shinobi that were usually not from Konoha - these nobles had a certain level of living that had to be accommodated for. Konoha's Merchant Guild usually tended to these visitors, putting on a magnificent festival and catering to the needs and wants of the upper class. Nobility were treated to quiet tea ceremonies- and many paid quite handsomely to be served by the Hyuuga, the noblest of the clans. Many attended calligraphy sessions, and the highest of the nobles even managed to sit alongside the Third Hokage as he went about his own calligraphy. The Nara entertained those who fancied themselves as tactical thinkers, amusing and challenging them with logic puzzles, riddles and games of strategy.

Luckily for Naruto, he was quite removed from all of that. For the past week, he had tended to whatever odd jobs he had been called for. As the personal aide of the Hokage, Uzumaki Naruto held a surprising amount of authority on the day-to-day workings of the Village, and he was able to somewhat cut out a lot of the red tape, especially when it came to time-sensitive manners. At the moment, Naruto was speeding towards the Village gates, the wind whipping through his hair. The last time he had been summoned, it had been on the behest of an extremely wealthy patron from the Land of Wind who had been suffering from a bout of gastro. Red in the face and the stink of bodily fluids following him, the flabby man had sweated as he abused the Jonin Guard at the gates, who had refused to allow him entry until all of the protocols had been followed. Naruto had smoothed things over, ensuring that the noble had been delivered to his hotel room as quickly as possible, and filing the paperwork himself.

Apparently the noble had been extremely grateful, and Naruto had been awarded a nice little bonus alongside the completion of the D-rank mission.

In a blur of movement, Naruto darted past the banners and weaved through the crowd- most who didn't even register his presence- and used the Body Flicker technique to close the rest of the distance. He appeared in the middle of Market Square in a crouch, and stood up. His headband gleamed in the sun and, clad in his Jonin vest and sporting a polite smile, Naruto made his way towards a stall, where an argument of some kind was taking place. A horse sat there, chewing on what seemed to be a potato lazily, while two shinobi flanked it. With dark skin and bright eyes, Naruto didn't need to see the headband to know that they were from Kumo. They were watching warily as their patron, a tall, round, portly man with dark skin and flamboyant robes, delivered a verbal lashing to one of the stall owners, who was paling and arguing back shakily.

"Good morning," Naruto interjected as the noble took a pause to breathe. The Noble started, and the two guards tensed and swung to face him. Naruto ignored them, and he adjusted his headband.

"It's hardly a good morning!" the noble spat out. He drew himself up, turning and looking Naruto up and down. "Who are you?" He asked with a sneer.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto," Naruto answered politely. He smiled. "I'm a representative from the Hokage's Office. What seems to be the problem?"

"Ah! Uzumaki-sama!" the stall owner called out. He looked relieved to see him, beads of sweat dripping down his forehead. "This man has claimed that I have injured his animal, and he's demanding compensation!"

Naruto eyed the horse. It looked perfectly healthy to him, and it stared back at him without blinking. Naruto was the first to break the stare, turning back to the noble with raised eyebrows.

"Your animal looks fine to me," he said to the noble. "What happened?"

"I was enjoying a nice, pleasant ride throughout this little village, when this barbarian attacked my horse with a metal instrument of some kind!" the noble answered indignantly. "What nerve! Were we back home, I would have him put to the sword! How dare he lay his filthy hands on a beast of the Land of Lightning's nobility?"

"I see," Naruto said. He turned to the stall owner, who was shaking his head vigorously.

"I was just selling my stock as usual, Uzumaki-sama," he said, voice trembling with emotion. "And then this beast came up and started eating all of my vegetables!"

"Did you strike it?" Naruto asked quietly.

The man looked miserable. "Yes, with a pan," he replied, and then his voice took on a more defensive tone. "But it was destroying my livelihood! I had a right to protect my merchandise!"

"You had no right to mount an attack on myself or my belongings!" the noble cried out dramatically. He gestured imperiously at the stall owner. "Shinobi! I demand you take him away!"

Naruto released a hidden sigh on what was probably about to become a painful conversation. His eyes flickered over the Kumo Nin, who continued to watch him carefully. He could see the tensed muscles, the carefully selected stances, and the lingering hands next to weapons pouches- as if they expected Naruto to attack them at any moment.

"Sir, are you aware that you're not allowed to bring horses into the Market Square?" Naruto asked the noble.

The noble spluttered. "A-Are you taking _his_ side? You imbecile! He attacked me! Detain him!"

Naruto's smile grew even more polite. "Your horse shouldn't have been here," he told the noble quietly. "And while he shouldn't have attacked your horse, this man had every right to defend his business. I suggest that you take your animal and let bygones be bygones. Nobody seems to be hurt, and there's no need for this to go any further than it already has."

The noble looked livid. "You stupid, little, boy!" he hissed, venom dripping with each word. He raised a ring-covered finger and jabbed it at Naruto's chest. "I didn't ask, nor did I want, the opinion of an idiotic, little, brat! Go away, and find me somebody who can take care of this for me!"

However, his last jab of Naruto was caught, and Naruto gripped the finger rather tightly. His smile stretched his face now, and his very being radiated a sense of politeness and civility. Yet, something flickered in his eyes and his smile was perhaps a little too fixed to his cheeks.

"I would suggest," Naruto began, his voice softer than ever but still able to be clearly heard, "that you stop assaulting a shinobi of Konoha and stand down."

He let go of the finger, and the noble bought it back to his chest with a cry of pain. He cradled it, looking aggrieved and pale.

"Guards! Defend me!" he proclaimed loudly. He gestured at Naruto, who folded his arms and eyed the Kumo Nin carefully. "Detain this little peasant!"

The two Kumo Nin looked distinctively uncomfortable.

"My Lord," one of them began carefully. "Are you aware that Uzumaki Naruto is the personal aide and assistant of the Third Hokage? It would be unwise to provoke such a needless confrontation."

"What?" the noble sounded incredulous. "This little brat?" He turned and looked Naruto up and down, looking decided unimpressed. "He doesn't look like he's even graduated from the Academy yet!"

"Nonetheless," the Kumo Nin replied. He turned to Naruto, and looked in straight in the eye. "Uzumaki Naruto is an A-ranked Jonin of Konoha, known to Kumogakure as the Right Hand of God. From all accounts, he has earned his titles."

Naruto met the gaze blankly as the lead shinobi signalled to his subordinate. The other Kumo Nin gathered the reigns of the horse and began to lead it out of the market. The leader nodded respectfully at Naruto, and firmly led the spluttering noble away from the stall.

"Thank you, Uzumaki-sama!" the stall owner exclaimed in relief. "I was worried there for a moment."

"It was no problem," Naruto said with a polite smile. He reached into his pouch and pulled out a little notebook. Opening it, he scribbled something down and passed it over the stall. The man took it with a questioning look. "This is a receipt you'll be able to claim at the Mission's Assignment Office. It should cover the cost of any damaged or destroyed stock. Have a pleasant…"

Naruto trailed off, and he suddenly went rigid. His smile disappeared and his back straightened as an ominous and dangerous presence filled the Market Square. The stall owner appeared a little discomforted, but was otherwise unaffected. Naruto turned around, his chakra beginning to stir and his muscles tensing, as a group of shinobi walked through the street. The thickening bloodlust and sense of danger was coming from them.

It was a group of Suna Nin, a Jonin and three Genin. The Jonin spotted Naruto first, and the two high-ranked shinobi assessed each other almost instantly.

_Average height, 175 – 182 cm- Headband located, a Suna Nin- Wearing a turban, with the left side of face covered- Distinctive red tattoos on right cheek and dark eyes- identity confirmed! A-ranked Jonin of Sunagakure, Baki, the Desert Tempest- member of Suna's Advisory Council, elite Jonin, and the Fourth Kazekage's right-hand man – Jonin sensei of Suna's weapon._

Baki seemed to have recognised him, and was watching him closely. Naruto was on edge as the other man assessed him. Baki was a powerful Jonin, possibly too powerful for Naruto to defeat. He was well-respected, skilled in multiple areas, and a veteran of the Third Great War. Like Hatake Kakashi and Maito Gai, Baki was one of those elite Jonin that had been identified as a possible contender for 'S-rank'.

However, the carefully restrained bloodlust and murder did not come from him. Rather, it came from one of the genin. The other two were of little consequence, a tall, blonde-haired kunoichi wielding a war-fan on her back, and a tall boy wearing the battle paint of Suna's Puppeteer Corp. No, it was the one in the middle, the smallest and seemingly fragile of them all. His face was blank and smoothed over, dark shadows lay underneath his emotionless green eyes and a tattoo seemed to have been burned in the skin above his left eye. With red hair and a large gourd on his back, Naruto recognised the host of the One-Tailed Demon Raccoon almost instantly.

Despite being a Genin, Gaara of the Sand had already achieved an A-rank rating in the Bingo Book, an opponent that only skilled Jonin or well-equipped teams should ever confront. His mission history was rather poor, when compared to other shinobi of his rank. He had only ever achieved eight C-ranked missions, and one B-ranked mission. However, given the ease with which he completed them, seemingly returning from them without so much as a scratch, plus his status as a demonhost, and rumours of his instability and dangerous powers, other Villages had assessed him higher than they usually might. It was almost ironic in a way. Gaara probably wasn't considered an A-rank shinobi by his own Village, yet possible enemies had already recognised his strength as a powerful shinobi.

The group of Suna Shinobi walked past him, and Naruto tracked them with his eyes. The genin didn't even give him a glance, his age and his headband no doubt marking him as 'just' another Leaf Nin. Baki, however, eyed him up and down, and Naruto kept his eye on the skilled Jonin until he had disappeared from view. The stall owner, who had watched the group with Naruto, shivered.

"That was creepy," he muttered.

Naruto started. He had almost forgotten that the man was there. He bid farewell, and left the Market Square in a flicker of movement. High above in the sky, a hawk let out a long, mournful screech, and Naruto appeared from his Body Flicker and glanced it. It screeched again, and Naruto spotted the orange cloth tied to its leg. It was a message to him, a priority order from the top. What had happened _this_ time?

* * *

><p>Fifteen minutes later, Naruto found himself standing deep within the depths of Konoha's Department of Intelligence and Counterintelligence. Located next to the ANBU Headquarters, the Department of Intelligence housed the secrets of Konoha's military, and was responsible for everything from troop movements, to the Border Guard, and the supplies lines to Konoha's various outposts within the Land of Fire. The Department was led by the Jonin Commander, Nara Shikaku, and it was in his office that Naruto found himself standing.<p>

Nara Shikaku was tall, deceptively thin man. Like many of the males of his clan, he wore his hair up a spiky ponytail and he sported a goatee at the end of his chin. His face was marred with two large scars on the right hand side of his face, a souvenir from his encounter with spiked gauntlet during the Third Shinobi War, but his eyes were undamaged and were dark, perpetually narrowed, and always assessing others with a shrewd look. He wore a dark-green Jonin vest with a set of almost-invisible golden bars on his lapels to signify his status.

Naruto stood in front of his desk and waited as the Jonin Commander scanned the document in front of him. The more the Nara seemed to read, the deeper his scowl got. It was a four page document, but the man was finished with it in a matter of moments, and, once he was done, he let out a tired groan.

"How annoying," he muttered darkly. He dropped the papers on his desk and glanced up at Naruto. "You arrived quickly, and your punctuality is to be commended, Jonin Uzumaki."

It was hard to tell when a Nara was being sarcastic, but Naruto thought that it might have been praise.

"Thank you, sir," Naruto replied monotonously

He didn't allow himself to move, standing up straight and trying to give the best impression he could. He had only ever had a few meetings with the Jonin Commander, usually a guest of the Hokage's, and they had been relatively early during his career as the Hokage's assistant. During those times, Naruto had always gotten the impression that Nara Shikaku had never really been that impressed with him. There was nothing to back up his claims, and the Jonin Commander had never really spoken to him, but there had always been this look in his eye that had seen what Naruto was capable of and had found him wanting.

It had left a lasting impression on Naruto, and he was eager to show that he was worthy of his rank. Already, he could see that the Nara seemed to hold him in a different light. It was just the way the other man was looking at him.

"The Hokage is currently in a private session with the Feudal Lord's favourite cousin, so I shall be delivering this mission to you," Shikaku explained, and he grimaced.

Naruto shared his expression. Politics- it was so much easier as a shinobi.

Shikaku motioned at a document on his table. "Earlier today, I received a report from a team currently stationed within the Land of Birds," he continued. "They were acting as Konoha's representatives on a bid of stock from the Manufactorium. I believe you were the one who assigned that mission, actually."

The Manufactorium was the largest weapons factory in the world. They made everything from kunai, shuriken and explosive notes, to the windmill shuriken, siege equipment and storage seals. Most of the stock of weapons that Konoha, and any of the Five Great Villages, used was from that factory. While they sold to practically anybody, they also held an auction of sorts every three or so years. Villages from all over the Elemental Countries could come and bid on an exclusive contract, which would give villages better rates and first preference on any and all stock. Last time, Iwa had won the contract, and had snapped up anything that Konoha had even glanced at. This time, Konoha had been determined to win that contract.

"Team Yuna," Naruto recalled. "I assigned the mission about a week ago."

Shikaku nodded. "There's been an explosion," he told Naruto, whose eyes widened in surprise. "Two of the Kumo reps are dead, one of Suna's reps has lost a leg, and two of ours are in the hospital wing- minor, but lasting, injuries." The Nara fixed Naruto with a grim look. "Accusations have been thrown. According to witnesses, Leaf Nin were spotted at the scene just before the explosion occurred."

The Nara sighed.

"This situation is troublesome," he grumbled. "We don't need this, especially with the Chunin Exams just around the corner. The Land of Bird is demanding answers, so we're going to send you."

Naruto nodded determinedly. "Yes, sir."

"You'll act as the personal representative of the Third Hokage," Shikaku brief him. He shuffled some of the papers on his desk. "The Hokage has a very good reputation amongst the small countries, so we're hoping to use that to convince the Land of Birds of our innocence. You'll go to the Manufactorium and assist with the investigations in any way possible. Questions?"

"Is this a solo mission, sir?" Naruto asked.

"We can't really afford to spare any shinobi," Shikaku answered. He scowled. "And frankly, the presence of multiple Leaf Nin will be seen more as an attempt at intimidation or coercion than negation. You'll go alone. Do your best, Jonin Uzumaki. Konoha wants this contract."

"Sir." Naruto saluted.

* * *

><p>The Land of Birds a small country nestled in between four other countries. To the north was the border of the Land of Earth, a rugged, treacherous range of mountains and cliffs that even the most seasoned of shinobi would have trouble crossing. To the south lay the border of the Land of Wind, and beyond that were the vast salt flats and sand dunes of the Spiralling Sand Sea. It was hot, dry, arid place, yet was perhaps the safest place to cross into the Land of the Birds, for on the eastern border was the Land of Rain.<p>

There were few constants in the Elemental Countries, but the presence of the Three Pillars of the Old World was one of them. The first pillar was the Sarutobi Hiruzen, the man who had become known as the God of all Shinobi, the master of all of the shinobi arts. The second pillar was his rival, the Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, the master of Dust Release. The third pillar was Hanzo the Salamander. All three of them could remember a time where there had been no villages. They were the last, final remnants of the era of the Clan Wars, aging relics in a new, modern age.

Yet their power could not be denied- and, of all the Three Pillars, Hanzo the Salamander was perhaps the most renowned, in his own way. Under his brutal rule, the Land of Rain had kept its independence as the Five Great Villages rose into power. Although its lands had been used time and time again as a battlefield between the Land of Wind, the Land of Fire and the Land of Earth, Hanzo had driven back the intruders time and time again. A master of hand-to-hand combat, with the ability to deliver poisons with a single breath, and supplemented by his skill in _kenjutsu_, Hanzo was one of the finest Water-Release users in the world, and he had taken on entire armies before and come out victorious. He was also extremely paranoid. Nobody entered the Land of Rain and lived to tell the tale- _nobody._

Although it would have been more convenient, and much quicker, to travel through the Land of Rain to reach Bird Country, Naruto instead was forced to take the long, but safe, route. A highway ran from the Land of Fire, through River Country and into the north of the Land of Wind, right up into Bird Country. It took him a day and a half, but eventually Naruto passed through the sweltering hot desert, bypassing the small towns that littered the side of the highway, and moving into the Land of Birds.

It was a beautiful land to begin with, and in many ways it was similar to the Land of Fire. Despite a desert to the south, a rocky, arid land to the north, and a perpetual storm to the east, the plant life had managed to thrive and it rose to greet the warm, sunny skies. Crystal blue rivers and lakes dotted the landscape, and wildlife was abundant. It was an oasis in the middle of inhospitable lands, one that had seen relative peace throughout it days.

This was probably due to three factors- the strategic negotiation and bargaining the Land's previous Feudal Lord, the relative difficulty in actually entering the land, and the Land of Bird's close relationship with its western neighbour- the Land of Iron.

The Land of Iron was home to the Samurai Legions, and the only modern power to invest entirely in the somewhat out-dated military power. Most of the Elemental Countries had moved to a system of Hidden Villages, preferring the flexibility, utility, and cunning of a shinobi over the brute force of a Samurai Legion. Samurai were a combination of heavy-plated, almost antique armour, fused with advanced equipment like respirators and inbuilt short-wave radios. Where the use of _ninjutsu_ and _genjutsu_ by shinobi muddled and scrambled radio waves, the Samurai utilised chakra in a different way that apparently kept them from having similar problems.

With a force of twenty legions, with five thousand samurai per legion, the Land of Iron contained a military force that no Hidden Village wanted to fight.

As Naruto moved closer and closer to the eastern border of the Land of Birds, the ground became more rugged and mountainous. The foliage began to become less dense, green giving away to brown as the plants and trees began to thin. A lone mountain appeared on the horizon, and the ground became cracked. Black, twisted rocks were strewn over the drying, parched land as Naruto darted towards the mountain. A glow was beginning to catch his eye, and he could see dark plumes of smoke rising into the sky.

The mountain was not a mountain- it was an active volcano.

It rose high up into the sky, plumes of smoke rising from it, and streams of molten rock surging down the sides with an ominous glow. Little structures had been built on the slope of the volcano, and tiny little figures were moving up and down the rocky slope. At the base of the volcano, giant walls of dulled-black rock began to emerge, and Naruto took his first look at the Manufactorium.

It was an enormous facility, more of a city than a factory, and it rivalled Konoha in size. It was surrounded by a set of thick, iron walls, which loomed up over the facility and blocked much of it from view. Surrounding the city was a large moat, but instead of water it held a giant pool of glowing, molten rock. Large drawbridges spanned the distance of the moat, at least a dozen, and half of them had a peculiar set of iron tracks built upon them. Before Naruto's eyes, a pair of carriages sped down one of the tracks, loaded to the brim with coal. Long ropes had been tied to the front, and it was being pulled by a squad of bare chested men. They were muscular, and covered in sweat and soot, and towed the pair of connected carts over the drawbridge and into the facility.

Naruto was impressed. His black cloak flapped about him, and the filters built into his mask couldn't fully mask the smell of sulphur and iron. He landed at the foot of one of the drawbridges and came to a halt. He could hear the sounds of distant clangs, of metal banging on metal and the rattles of assembly lines. In front of him, a pair of crimson-eyed samurai gripped their swords. Clad in grey plated armour, their faces covered by a filtered mask, and sporting a spiked helmet, they were intimidating figures that loomed over the young ANBU.

Naruto didn't let any of his discomfort show as he took off his mask, revealing his face. The smell of sulphur and smoke increased in intensity, but it barely fazed him.

"Good afternoon," Naruto said with a polite smile. He held up a scroll bearing the wax seal of the Hokage's Office. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I'm here on behalf of the Village Hidden in Leaves. I've been told that there was an incident here involving our shinobi, and I've come to sort this all out."

One of the samurai took the scroll. The other kept a careful eye on Naruto, his hand wrapped around one of the four swords strapped to his armour. Naruto waited patiently as the samurai opened the scroll and read the contents. Then, he held his helmet and bent his head, as if he was listening to something. Naruto watched with interest as the warrior used the short-range radio built into his helmet to communicate with his superiors.

Radio technology had never really spread into most of the Elemental Countries. While the benefits of it were immense, shinobi had long ago found that the use of chakra severely disrupted radio waves, and a single moderately powerful technique could scramble every radio within a kilometre. In a battle, such disruption had been proven deadly. During the First Shinobi War, three platoons of Suna Nin, who had been outfitted with the newly-developed radio technology of the time, had been completely routed by two Iwa Chunin in what had become known as one of the biggest military blunders of the war.

The samurai nodded and moved his hand away from his helmet. "Your presence has been approved," he said, his voice distorted by his mask. His partner stood down as the samurai stood aside. "You may cross the bridge and enter the Manufactorium."

"Thank you," Naruto said politely.

He placed his mask back over his face, inwardly relieved that he could block some of that terrible smell, and strode past the samurai. He walked over the bridge, taking a peak over the side and observing the hot, writhing magma below. At the other side of the bridge, just before a set of spiked, iron gates, he was met by a man dressed in faded, sooty robes, and a small squad of samurai.

"Greetings, Leaf Nin," the man whined.

Or, at least to Naruto, it sounded like a whine. The man was thin and reedy. The little of his face that wasn't covered with ash and dust was pale and clammy, and his thinning hair was plastered down on his forehead by a layer of sweat. His voice was the worst part, however, high-pitched and with a strange tremor that gave him the whine of a young, spoiled child.

"Welcome to the Manufactorium," the man continued nasally. He tried to smile, but all that came out was a grimace. "I'm Takuji. I'm one of the administrators appointed by the Feudal Lord. Thank you for coming."

As a courtesy, Naruto removed his mask, and he managed a bland smile. "I'm just hoping that I can be of some help," he said quietly. "Konoha has always enjoyed good relations with the Manufactorium, and we'd like to keep it that way."

"Indeed." Takuji managed a long sniff.

The samurai held position around him, and to Naruto it was almost surreal. The smallest samurai still towered over Naruto, and most of them looked like they could pick him up and snap him like a twig. Nonetheless, the way they seemed to watch him like a hawk suggested that they were just as wary of him as he was of them- a mutual caution that Naruto could respect.

Takuji turned, and motioned for Naruto to join him, and, as the samurai took positions around them, the two representatives walked through the iron gates and entered the Manufactorium.

* * *

><p>The outer streets of the enormous facility were dirty and crowded. Rows upon rows of rickety sheds had been crammed together, made of corrugated iron that had long since rusted. Many of them had mouldy couches and chairs outside, and sooty-skinned, skinny men and women gazed up at them blankly as the entourage walked past them. Dirty, grubby children played on the street, darting in and out of dark alleyways with little fear. Many of them wore rags that might have once past for a tunic, and they were covered in grease, soot and dirt. A group of them watched Takuji and Naruto pass, and a wide-eye boy must have gotten too close because one of their samurai escorts roughly shoved the child out of the way, and he fell to the ground. No sound escaped him, and he didn't seem too hurt as grubby kid jumped to his feet and darted nimbly away.<p>

This street of hovels seemed to stretch on forever, but Takuji turned at a street corner and Naruto was bought out of the slums area and into a wide, busy street. These must have been the path that led from the factories to the main gates, Naruto observed, noting the iron tracks on the ground. Behind him were the tall, imposing gates, and ahead were the giant iron factories, with large, tall chimneys puffing out copious amounts of dirty smoke. The factories had been built on the slope of the volcano, and streams of molten rock poured down the rocky slope, in between the factories and into a series of giant vats. Many of the factories were connected by a series of metal walkways that criss-crossed their upper floors. Small watchtowers dotted these walkways, and the largest of these sat in the middle of all of the factories. It was the tallest building within the facility, and it loomed up above over everything else.

Takuji noticed Naruto assessing a group of grubby men in overalls walking past them and began speaking.

"They mostly come from the countryside," Takuji said conversationally as he led Naruto deeper and deeper into the Manufactorium. "It is messy work, but we pay better than the farms and vineyards. They come here and work in the mines. The strong ones haul the carts to and fro. The weak work in the factories."

Naruto eyed a pair of exhausted children who were staggering away from the factories, their faces dirty and their hands covered in blisters. With their lack of muscle mass, he wondered how they could possibly be good workers.

The stench of the coal factories became more prominent the closer Naruto got. The giant road had widened, and there were many pairs of tracks leading from dozens of different streets and avenues. A platoon of bare chested men were grunting as they jogged past Naruto, pulling behind them a rail cart filled to the brim with wooden boxes. Naruto got a glimpse of the insignia on one of the boxes, noting it to be the symbol of the Land of Rice.

They entered one of the factories and Naruto was hit in the face by a wave of blistering heat. A series of rails had been built into the wall, steel wire suspending small, blackened vats. On one end, a foreman was shouting as he directed a group of tough-looking men to turn a giant wheel. With every turn, the steel wire was pulled in, and the vats slowly moved over the factory floor. A whistle sounded, the men stopped and the vats paused, suspended in mid-air. With another yell, a lever was pulled and the vats tipped upside down, releasing a stream of glowing molten steel into a series of giant tanks. They metal huffed and puffed, steam rising and falling with a loud whistling noise, and something groaned and clanked in the background. Coal was shovelled into giant furnaces, and another wheel was spun.

Leading from the giant tanks were a series of assembly lines, manned by dozens of women and children. They all wore thick gloves, but little else, and as the assembly began moving away from the giant tanks, gleaming metal objects were dropped onto it. Newly-smelted kunai and shuriken were inspected by the workers, and every time they came across a defect they would pick it up with their thick gloves and toss it on another assembly line behind them, one moving into the giant tanks. At the end of the assembly line was a chute, where the weapons fell down into the depths tank to be melted down and reforged.

Naruto took all of this in with some degree of awe. If the factory kept producing a similar quantity of kunai and shuriken all day, there would be enough weapons to outfit an entire division, along with some to spare.

"It's a very efficient process," Takuji boasted proudly.

One of the women at the assembly coughed into her hand, and Naruto saw something red and sticky. She wiped it on her tattered dress, smoothed over her lank, damp hair, and got back to work again.

"Yes," Naruto said quietly. "Efficient."

Takuji led him past the factory line and up a metal walkway. The stairs twisted and turned, and Naruto found himself over the factory floor, watching the hundreds of workers below scurry about. A door was opened outside and he walked out, right into thick, hazy smog. The filters on his mask filtered the worst of it, and Takuji let out a hacking cough, covering his mouth with his fist.

"This way," the thin, pale man said. He didn't seem to notice his hand trembling as he gestured to the large watchtower in the midst of all of the factories.

They walked on the metal walkway. Naruto's footsteps were silent, but the steps of their samurai escort made the railing shudder and groan. They moved past the first factory, and below them Naruto saw a cart being pulled up against the side of another factory. It was filled with what looked like shrapnel- twisted shuriken, blunted kunai, shattered swords, and so forth. A giant chute had been built into the side of the factory, and the cart was brought to the very edge and tipped over.

"Scavengers," Takuji explained. He wiped his nose with a dirty cloth, and sniffed. "They're the outcasts of society, really, gangs filled with crippled soldiers, Genin rejects, and people who couldn't find work outside the battlefields of shinobi."

Naruto watched a weary group of scavengers trundle off.

"I see," he said neutrally.

He wondered if there were any former students of Konoha's Shinobi Academy amongst that group. What a sad fate- rejected as a shinobi, unable to defend your village or uphold the Will of Fire. Truly, Naruto wondered if somebody like that was better off dead.

Takuji took him within the watchtower, and led him through hallways of faded wallpaper and creaking ceiling fans. Eventually, they reached a set of tacky double-doors, and Takuji threw them open with an exhausted sigh. A fan blazed on high speed, and papers rustled underneath the breeze. Takuji made his way through the room, and sat behind a long desk filled to the brim with papers. Sweat beaded on the administrator's forehead, the fans doing little to mitigate the sweltering heat emanating from the factories.

"Here," Takuji said, and he threw Naruto a manila folder.

Naruto caught and opened it.

"Two days ago, a shinobi wearing a headband of the leaf attacked the outskirts of the rail yards," Takuji explained as Naruto read through the witness reports. "He had an unknown number of allies, and five samurai were killed before they detonated a series of explosive tags and disappeared."

"I see," Naruto murmured. "Naturally, Konoha had nothing to do with this."

"Of course you didn't," Takuji scoffed. "If you wanted to attack us, you wouldn't be wearing your headbands. Of course," he added shrewdly, "If you wanted to attack us and you didn't want us to suspect you, you _would_ wear your headbands, thereby making it 'too' obvious that you were the culprits. Of course, you would know that I was capable of reaching that conclusion so you _wouldn't_ wear your headbands, therefore I wouldn't suspect you because if you did do it you would wear your headbands…"

Takuji trailed off, shaking his head disparagingly, while Naruto observed him with surprise from behind his mask. He hadn't expected such a dangerous ability of reasoning behind the thin, little man.

"Well, we didn't do it," Naruto confirmed after a few moments of awkward silence. He cleared his throat. "What was the target?"

"We think it was rail distribution centre," Takuji answered. "Most of our raw materials are sent through there- iron ore, diamond dust, gold- there's enough there to fund the Fourth Shinobi War. Of course," he added despairingly, "with shinobi, who knows? All we can do is keep a close guard on everything and wait for reinforcements from the Land of Iron."

"I see," Naruto said and placed the folder down. "Where's the delegation from Konoha at the moment?"

"All foreign shinobi are in lockdown," Takuji replied. "The explosion took out two representatives from Kumo, and it injured one of your Chunin. They're currently in the medical wing under heavy guard."

"Please take me to them."

* * *

><p>Naruto hadn't been expecting much, and had been pleasantly surprised to enter a relatively clean and sanitised hospital. Whatever methods they had of keeping the soot and smoke out of the building worked well, and he felt rather dirty as he strode past the crimson-eyed samurai guards. He was escorted past the front desk and taken to a secure ward on the third floor. Inside a room, he found Team Yuna.<p>

"Hello," Naruto greeted quietly as he entered the room.

The leader of the team was a woman named Yuna, a pretty woman in her thirties with odd purple eyes and long silver hair. A bang covered her left eye, and she wore a flak vest that exposed more cleavage than what was probably necessary. A long, coiled whip was strapped to her back, and a bandage had been wrapped around her right shoulder. Behind her were two Chunin, each wearing a bandanna, although one was blue and the other was red. A man lay in the bed, bandaged up but breathing steadily, and he wore a green bandanna.

"Ferret-sama!" the Chunin with the blue bandanna gasped.

"Hey, Blue," Naruto replied. He removed his mask and smiled politely. "How's Green?"

Yuna was a good Jonin, and she had earned her A-rank, but like many other shinobi she was a little eccentric. Her memory for names was completely abysmal, and despite the fact that she had led her team for over ten years- first as a genin squad and then as a team of chunin- she had never remembered the names of her subordinates. Her solution: give them each a different coloured bandanna, and refer to them as colours. It had worked surprisingly well, to the point where even Naruto only knew them by the colours of their headbands.

"I'm good," Green slurred. He giggled. "Oh yeah. I'm so good right now."

"If by 'good', you mean completely shitfaced on pain meds, then yeah," Red muttered. He looked embarrassed. "You're embarrassing us, Green."

"Quiet, brats! The grownups need to talk," Yuna barked.

"I'm twenty-three," Red grumbled, but he fell silent.

Yuna and Naruto stepped outside.

"How are you?" Naruto asked quietly.

"I'm fine," Yuna replied. She managed a tight smile. "The samurai already didn't like us that much, and this hasn't helped. I think we're one mistake off being lynched."

"Just keep your head down," Naruto advised. "Now, what can you tell me?"

"Not much," Yuna answered regretfully. "We didn't see much. We were being taken on a tour of the facilities along with the rest of the delegates from the other Villages- that Takuji guy likes showing off. There was a commotion- it only lasted for about ten seconds. There were at least a dozen of them, but before we could move to engage one of them lit a whole reel of explosive tags under our feet."

Naruto frowned.

"The container shielded most of us, but the Kumo Nin were fucked," Yuna continued. "By the time the dust had settled, most of them had gone. Honestly, they didn't look like they were expecting us, and they scattered pretty quickly."

Naruto took all of this in.

"I think I need to see where this all happened," he said.

Yuna nodded. "We'll stay here. Be careful, Ferret."

* * *

><p>It didn't take a lot of arguing to get Takuji to agree to let him have a look at the scene of the attack. Naruto got the feeling that the samurai weren't making a lot of progress, and that the administrator was hoping that he'd make some progress. With his samurai guard, Naruto was escorted to the rail distribution centre. It was a huge yard, filled with containers and rail lines extending out to the outer walls of the facility. Even this far out from the factories, the blistering heat still remained as clouds gathered overhead.<p>

In the middle of the site was a huge crater, big enough to stack a couple of homes in there with room to spare. Samurai poured over the site like ants, their glowing crimson eyes standing out in the darkness as the sun began to set. Much of the centre had been taped off, and even with the giant crater in the middle of the rail yards, business around them still went on as usual. Carts were towed in and pulled out, many taken to the huge warehouse at the end of the yard.

Naruto ignored them all as he stood at the bottom of the crater. He knelt down, breathing deeply and picking up a handful of soil. While he was no sensor, he had worked enough with elemental chakra to know what he was looking for. That said, the residue of earth elemental chakra was quite tricky to detect, and it took a few minutes before Naruto could be certain.

Somebody had been underground, probably planting those explosives. What for, though? Naruto stood up, drumming his fingers on the side of his utility pouch. Was this an assassination attempt? Were the targets the Kumo Nin? Had the attackers wanted something else? Or had it been a defensive ploy, a way to ensure a successful retreat? What did they want?

There was only one other thing of interest, and it took a few moments to travel there with his samurai guard. He was taken to the large granite walls, where a small samurai contingent stood guard around a breach. Somebody had cut a neat rectangle right through the solid rock, and Naruto bent down to observe it. It was a perfectly even cut, and the metal had been welded shut before it had even had a chance to drip down onto the ground.

"Huh," Naruto uttered quietly.

The samurai watched him from behind their masks without a sound. Naruto ignored them and pondered the cut. It was obviously the result of a technique, probably lightning technique. There were definitely signs of the piercing properties of lightning elemental chakra, but Naruto couldn't think of a technique that could do this so cleanly. It had to be a technique like Kakashi's Lightning Blade, something intensely focussed, and it was definitely something powerful.

Whatever it was, Naruto was sure that it wasn't the work of an amateur, or an intelligent band of thieves or bandits. No, this was the work of a powerful shinobi, and Naruto frowned as he stood back up, absently wiping his hands on his robes.

Whoever it was, Naruto still didn't know what they wanted.

"Let's go back," he murmured to his guard.


	23. Attack at the Manufactorium! Part II

**Attack at the Manufactorium!**

**Part II**

* * *

><p>The sun had gone down and night had fallen, but in many ways Naruto couldn't really tell the difference. The glow of the flowing molten rock coming from the volcano the Manufactorium had been built around lit the skies all around them. Dark, thick clouds obscured the stars and the moon, but the smoke and smog reflected a lot of the light back down onto them. And, all around them, the huge factories kept on working. Metal clanged on metal, furnaces roared and carts were pulled in and out as the facility continued to pump out thousands upon thousands of weapons. The temperature was only marginally better during the night, and Naruto could feel himself sweating behind his mask. With a sigh, he took it off and placed it on the table next to him.<p>

At the other end of the small room that Naruto had been allocated, Yuna chuckled.

"It does get hot here," she said. She threw her hair back over her shoulder and leaned back in her chair. "It's a crappy place to be. It's hot and noisy, and it smells bad. Konoha is a paradise compared to this."

"No arguments here," Naruto muttered.

He leaned back on his own chair and took a drink from his canteen. He was being conservative with it, as the tap in the kitchen had produced a black, slimy residue that might have _once_ been water. Yuna watched him from the corner of her eye, smiling.

Naruto caught the look. "What?" he asked.

Yuna just kept smiling, and shook her head. "Anyway," she said. "As I was saying, I bet that the attackers are the Third Kazekage's Legion!"

"That's just a myth," Naruto scoffed. He took another sip. "There's no such thing."

"There is so!" Yuna argued. She grinned darkly. "The Third Kazekage's top men still searching high and low for their former master, leaving no stone unturned- and no witnesses." She leaned in, and waggled her fingers. "_Scary!_"

"Uh huh," Naruto uttered. He grinned. "No, it was the Fourth Mizukage and TIDE, coming to purge the lands of the dirty and the unclean."

"No, it Hanzo the Salamander, coming to prove once and for all that he's still the strongest!" Yuna rebutted wildly. "You know how he hates those samurai."

"No, it was Uchiha Madara and the ghosts of the Uchiha Clan, coming to…" Naruto paused as he detected a near-imperceptible flinch from Yuna. He grimaced. "Sorry," he apologised. "Bad taste."

"No, it's fine," Yuna said with a sigh. She rested her elbows on the table and leaned her chin on her outstretched arms. "One of my genin teammates was from the Uchiha Clan. He was a nice guy, a bit stuck-up, but weren't they all?"

Naruto didn't remember them that well, to be honest, but he nodded anyway. The mood of the room had darkened, and there was no more joking between the two Jonin. After a few moments, Naruto let out a sigh and pulled out a small, battered book.

"A bingo book?" Yuna asked curiously.

"Trying to see if there's anybody in here with a notable lightning-based technique," Naruto explained. He gestured at the page he had flipped it on. "I've only gone through the first half, but this guy might fit the criteria."

"'Kumo's "Thunder Cannon'," Yuna read. "A-ranked Missing Nin from Kumo, wanted for the theft of the Daimyo's prized sceptre and the murder of seventeen Chunin. Hmm, it looks like he has the _ninjutsu_ to carve a hole through thick iron plate."

"And he's got a history of stealing stuff," Naruto added. He shrugged. "It might be him. Still, we're assuming that it's the work of a Missing Nin. It might have been a village-sanctioned operation."

"Who'd risk pissing off the Manufactorium?" Yuna questioned. She chewed on a strand of hair thoughtfully as she spoke. "You don't fuck around with the people who make your weapons, or grow your food. It's a given."

"If one of the Villages knew that they weren't going to win the contract then maybe they thought they'd stuff it up for everybody else," Naruto theorised.

Yuna opened her mouth to respond when a deafening explosion ripped through the air. The walls shuddered, and both Naruto and Yuna sprung to their feet in an instant. Naruto raced for the window and frantically peered outside. A great plume of smoke was rising in the west, where the Rail Distribution Centre was located. As he watched, Naruto caught a flicker of movement, and he saw an unmanned railway cart slowly rolling down a dip. Then, in an instant, it exploded in a great column of fires. The walls rumbled again, and the boom was another to shatter the window in front of him.

Whistles were being blown, and an alarm was beginning to fill the air. Naruto watched as factory doors were sealed shut and sooty, panicked workers scurried about looking for shelter. Legions of samurai were already heading towards the scene of the attacks as another explosion ripped through the Manufactorium.

"What's the plan?" Yuna asked from behind him.

Naruto kept his eyes peeled. He had a very good view from the top of the tower, and he couldn't actually see any fighting occurring. The samurai were very efficiently securing the areas, but smaller, secondary explosions kept taking place, keeping the local guard off-balance. Naruto narrowed his eyes, his suspicions growing.

There was a commotion outside and Yuna whirled around. Her whip was in her hand, and she was twirling it around her head carefully, ready to lash out. Naruto summoned his chakra, and prepared a technique- but when the door opened, it was only Takuji, who looked harried.

"Do you know what's going on?" He demanded.

"No," Naruto answered, and turned around. He kept watching the fires. "No more than what you do. You seem to be under attack."

"The samurai will catch them," Takuji said decisively.

"No they won't," Naruto replied. He looked over his shoulder, his face deadly serious. "This is a trap, or a distraction. I don't think your samurai will find anybody down there."

"What?" Takuji sounded bewildered.

"Ah," Yuna made a noise of comprehension from behind him. She understood.

All of those explosions had been scary and flashy, but they really hadn't done a lot of damage. True, molten rock was beginning to seep through a large hole blown in the ground, but most of the facilities hadn't even been affected. Either the explosions had been designed to lure somebody out for an assassination attempt, or they were a diversion, a way to keep the samurai occupied while the perpetrators carried out their true mission. Naruto tore his eyes away from the fires and scanned the other side of the city. It had all been sealed up tight and there was nothing really- wait!

"Did you see that?" Naruto asked Yuna.

"See what?" Yuna asked.

"Over there," Naruto pointed to a darkened section of the city, on the opposite end of the explosions right up against the wall. "There was a flash of yellow light, just for a second."

"Samurai patrol?" Yuna hazarded a guess.

Naruto was frowning. "What's over there?" He asked Takuji, who moved forward to see where he was pointing at.

"Exports," Takuji answered distractedly. He kept glancing at the fires and the smoke, and was flinching every time a small explosion would occur. "We send out our shipments of merchandise through there. It's all locked up for the night- the first cart usually goes out first thing in the morning."

"Is that so? Naruto murmured. "Let me guess- you've got a shipment going out tomorrow, don't you?"

"Well, yes," Takuji replied. "There's a shipment for the Land of Rice that's scheduled to leave tomorrow morning. They ordered 400 000 units of basic weapons and supplies."

"Is it guarded?" Naruto asked.

There it was again- the yellow flash of light!

"There's a contingent of guards there, but most of them…" Takuji trailed off as comprehension dawned on him. "Most of them would have fallen back to take defensive positions in more strategic areas."

Naruto smiled grimly. "They know your routines," he realised. "They knew what you would do. They set off the explosions, lured your guard away and they're probably killing who's left right now."

"What?" Takuji sounded bewildered.

"It's simple misdirection," Yuna answered for Naruto. She pointed at the explosion. "Pretend to attack there, but really attack over there."

Takuji was silent for a moment. Then, he burst into action. "Guards!" he bellowed, and a pair of samurai entered the room. "I want an entire division converging on sectors-"

"Wait!" Naruto interrupted, and he turned around.

Takuji paused during mid-sentence, looking furious. "Every second we delay is a second that the enemy has to get away!" he snapped.

"They know your routines," Naruto said harshly. "And I bet they've cracked your radios. If you send a division there, they'll disappear and probably try again."

"Then I should let them get away?" Takuji looked indignant.

"No," Naruto answered. "Just don't play into their hands. If they know your strategy, then do something that you normally wouldn't do." He smiled dangerously. "For example, instead of sending samurai, send shinobi- like us."

Takuji narrowed his eyes and contemplated Naruto carefully.

"We're quick and stealthy enough to catch up to them before they realise we're there," Yuna added. Her eyes gleamed. "Besides, I still owe them for what they did to Green."

"What do you want?" Takuji was instantly suspicious. "Shinobi never work for free. What's your price?"

Naruto made a split-second decision. "Konoha will make a reasonable offer on the contract. We want you to accept it up-front. No negotiations."

Takuji froze for a second. He was contemplating the offer, and Naruto turned back to the window. There was nothing instantly suspicious about Exports Station, and he couldn't see any more flashes of yellow light. Still, every instinct in his body was telling him that something was going on over there.

"They're getting away," Naruto reminded as Takuji thought about it.

"Deal," Takuji finally agreed. He took a deep breath. "But so help me, shinobi. If I find out that this was a trick…"

"It's no trick," Naruto assured him. He smiled politely. "Excuse us, Administrator. We're going to go and solve your problem."

Yuna and Naruto leapt out of the window and disappeared in a blurring of movement.

* * *

><p>The skies were lit up with fire and smoke as Yuna and Naruto darted through the desolate streets of the Manufactorium. Their footsteps were lost amidst the whistles and clanging bells as the samurai continued to fall for the enemy's ruse. As they darted through the streets, they occasionally passed a squad of patrolling samurai, their swords out and ready for combat. Yet, as they came closer and closer to the Exports Station, the streets became eerily silent and still. There were no houses this far out, only a series of large, steel warehouses and railway tracks. Large container carts stood motionless on the tracks, and large stacks of thick, sturdy containers began to line up around them. It was beginning to get hotter, and Naruto figured that they couldn't be too far away from the moat of molten rock that surrounded the facility.<p>

The two Jonin were silent as they skulked in the shadows. Naruto was clad in his dark ANBU robes and his mask covered his face. Yuna held her whip in her hands, ready to use it if necessary, as the two Jonin silently infiltrated the Exports Station and began to make their way forward. Naruto could feel his heart pounding beneath his armour, and adrenaline surged through his veins. Every fibre of his body was tense, and in some ways this skulking about was worse than the actual combat- the dreaded anticipation of combat, the possibility of an ambush- it was enough to make lesser shinobi falter or make a mistake.

Naruto and Yuna did not, but they were almost caught off guard as the enemy sprung their trap.

The only thing that gave it away was a slight creak of metal. Then, Naruto's eyes widened and he broke out of the shadows, darting away and leaping up off of the ground and onto the top of one of the railway carts. Yuna was by his side in an instant and the two of them sprinted away. Behind them, the large stacks of containers slowly tilted downwards and with a loud shriek of splitting metal, they fell out of their bindings and collapsed to the ground.

The noise was deafening, much worse than the explosions, and Naruto almost lost his balance. There was a flicker of movement in the corner of his eye, and as he righted himself he spun around, his hands flipping into a series of seals. A shinobi had lunged at him, but in that split-second Naruto reared his head back as heat blossomed in his throat.

_Fire Release: Great Wave of Flame!_

The shinobi was less than a metre away from Naruto, and was instantly enveloped in the giant wave of flame. He screamed as he was pushed away from Naruto, catching alight and disappearing underneath the writhing flames. The ground was still rumbling as the last of the containers fell, but Naruto heard a distinctive crack and saw Yuna brandishing her whip. She had wrapped it around the arm of another of the enemy, and she tossed him aside with a flick of her wrist. Naruto heard sizzling, and his eyes widened.

"Scatter!" he yelled, and disappeared in a Body Flicker.

A second later, the railway cart they had been standing on exploded in a flash of fire. Naruto had avoided most of the blast, but he felt a dull thump in the back of his armour where some of the debris must have caught him. He dove to the ground, and sidestepped a series of shuriken. He looked up watched as the enemy came forth from the shadows, more than twenty of them. Their headbands glinted underneath the fiery wreckage of the railway cart, the etched symbol of the Village Hidden in Rain almost glowing. They were Rain-Nin, but Naruto hadn't heard of an active squad, let alone a whole platoon, of Rain Nin being sighted outside of the Land of Rain in years.

The odds were not in his favour- Two Jonin of Konohagakure up against a platoon of Rain Nin.

Less than a second after they had revealed themselves, Naruto had hurled a fistful of shuriken at the platoon of Rain Nin and formed a hand-sign.

_Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!_

The fistful became hundreds and they hurled forward with an almost greenish glow. The Rain Nin scattered and the storage container they were standing up crumbled underneath the power of Naruto's attack. In that brief moment, Naruto formed another hand-sign and his chakra surged.

_Shadow Clone Technique!_

Five puffs of smoke burst into existence around him and Naruto disappeared within it. Then, before it had dissipated, six blurs of movement rocketed out from the smoke and began to attack the enemy. Metal clashed on metal and kunai rained through the air as the squad of identical white-masked ANBU moved to engage the enemy.

There was a blasting crack as Yuna attacked as well, her whip whirling about her. Four Rain Nin moved to engage her, two of them wielding steel-braced umbrellas. They opened them and a hail of senbon rained down on her- but they were all deflected by the whip that spun around her. Then, while keeping the whip still spinning wildly around her, Yuna lashed out and the tip of the whip shot forward. There was a metallic clank, and the first Rain Nin didn't even have time to widen his eyes before a gleaming sickle-like blade tore through his throat.

Nearby, Naruto ducked underneath a powerful but clumsy blow and grabbed the Rain Nin's vest. The woman's eyes widened as she tumbled forward, her balance lost, and shrieked as Naruto's foot came up on the back of her leg. There was an audible snap, and the woman collapsed. Naruto palmed a kunai and thrust it down on the woman's skull- but then she burst into smoke, and was replaced by a wooden sleeper. A second later, two others came to engage him, one wielding a giant spiked umbrella, and Naruto was forced to engage them.

His shadow clones were fighting nearby, and one of them had successfully looped a spool of wire around a Rain Nin's throat. The burly man was on the ground, choking and gasping as the shadow clone above him gripped the wire tight. One of the Rain Nin comrades lunged at the shadow clone, a kunai glinting in his hand, and the clone was dispelled with a mighty stab. The burly Rain Nin collapsed, wheezing and gasping, but his victory was short lived as the primed explosive tag on the man's back detonated. The ground shuddered and dirt and metal whizzed through the air, pelting the surroundings with debris and taking out both the burly man and his comrade.

Yuna was on a roll as she moved through the lines of the Rain Nin with extreme aggression. Her whip flew and whipped past her, moving in ways that defied natural movement. It gave off a light-blue glow as her chakra danced through the flexible steel wire, making it lash out at everything around her. It allowed her to defend herself from attack with the base of the whip, while still using the bladed-tail to attack. Two Rain Nin were defending against her furious onslaught, kunai and sickle meeting with showers of sparks, while Yuna deflected a hail of senbon from a third and used her free hand to throw a series of explosive notes. The third Rain Nin was forced to fall back as the ground around him was pelted with explosions, and this allowed Yuna time to advance. Her arm came up, and suddenly the base of her whip lashed out in a loop, catching one Rain Nin off-guard and wrapped around his neck. The steel wire tightened and the man stiffened, a puff of reddish air leaving his mouth, before he was dropped to the ground. The other Rain Nin fell back, but the sickle-like blade caught up with him and took him in the ankle. He collapsed, and a second later he was dead.

The Rain Nin were numerous, but they were not as skilled as the Leaf Nin. The two elite Jonin pushed them back further and further in the next few moments. A lightning technique lit up the air as Naruto sent a wave of cascading bluish-purplish bolts forward, cracking the ground and causing a stack of containers to fall to the ground. A deafening boom filled the air again, while Yuna used her whip to attach a sizzling explosive note to the chest of one of the Rain Nin. His comrades abandoned him and he let out a terrible scream as the note detonated in roar of fire, smoke and dirt. The Rain Nin had come together and had formed a defensive formation. Their movements were sluggish, and they had clearly not been expecting this level of resistance.

Naruto and Yuna continued to press forward, and the Rain Nin retreated further and further back into the depths of the Exports Station. Several of them threw out containers of water, and one of the Rain Nin made a few hand-seals. Chakra surged and the water bottles exploded, a giant torrent of water gushing out towards the ground. The Rain Nin leapt up onto one of the railway carts, while Naruto formed a series of hand-signs and pressed his hands on the ground.

_Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!_

The railway tracks underneath his hands groaned and splintered as a tall wall of earth rose from the ground. It tore through the tracks and pushed aside a storage container, rising up to be five times Naruto's height. A second later, it shuddered as the torrent of water slammed against it, but it held and the water was diverted. Naruto leapt up, his chakra surging, and made a series of hand-signs. His heart pounding, he reached the top of the wall and pressed his hands to his lips.

_Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet Technique!_

Fire chakra leapt from his _tenketsu_, and he propelled it out of his mouth in a giant stream. It reared up, taking the form of a writhing, angry dragon, which roared into the night sky. Naruto kept his hands in the _Tiger-seal_, and under his direction the dragon of flame broke apart into three separate streams of swirling flame, two which arced to the left and right of the of the Rain Nin, and the main body of the attack soaring overhead to attack from behind.

It left the Rain Nin no choice and they advanced from their defensive positions as the dragon of flames enveloped the railway cart they were on and chased after them. Naruto stared at them, his hands in the tiger-seal, as the remaining enemy shinobi charged at him, fire nipping on their heels. Then, he released the seal and jumped backwards, off of the wall as a barrage of kunai whizzed past him. In a flash of movement, Naruto reached into his pouch and pulled out his entire reel of explosive tags. As he fell, he stuck them to surface of his wall, until they were all gone and he had landed neatly on the ground. His hands blurred.

_Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall_!

Another wall of earth rose up in front of him, cutting him off from the first one he had created. Naruto didn't wait for the second wall to form as he formed another series of hand-signs and reared his head back.

_Fire Release: Soaring Flame Bullets!_

He spat a volley of fiery blast of heat from his mouth, and shot them directly at the explosive tags on the first earth-style wall. They hissed and sizzled, and Naruto ducked underneath his second wall and slammed his hands against it, reinforcing it with all of his might.

Then there was a terrible roar and the ground buckled. The second earth wall shuddered and groaned, even as it continued to grow, as the first wall of earth detonated in an overwhelming wave of fire and heat. The second earth wall buckled, but it held back and redirected the force of the detonation. There had been dozens of explosive tags, and that combined with the redirection of the explosions caused the first earth wall to seemingly disappear.

But it hadn't disappeared. It had exploded into an uncountable rain of rocky debris, which was propelled forward faster than any kunai. The force of the explosion pushed the shards of rock and gravel into the advancing Rain Nin, and it tore them to pieces. The ground shuddered and splintered, metal groaned and twisted, and a railway cart was pushed over and torn apart as the shower of debris destroyed everything in its path. From behind his earth-style wall, Naruto could her Yuna's whip cracking as she finished off the last of the enemies, and then it fell silent.

Naruto clambered up off of the ground and darted up the wall. His heart was still racing, the smell of fire and blood and death filling his senses. Breathing deeply, he arrived at the top of his wall and observed the results of his last tactics. The explosion had truly been a powerful one, and the destroyed containers and railway carts around them made the Exports Station appear like a war-zone. Little bits of enemy shinobi littered the ground, and Naruto very carefully didn't observe them too closely. What he did notice, however, was the glowing molten rock that was seeping from the craters in the ground. The explosion had somehow caused the magma to bubble up to the surface, and it began to ooze out of the ground.

Yuna appeared by his side, her whip coiled around her protectively. Her silver hair was covered in soot, and there was a slash going through her flak vest, but otherwise she seemed to be unharmed. She was baring her teeth in a savage grin, breathing deeply as the adrenaline began to wear off.

"Stay sharp," Naruto murmured as he observed the surroundings.

His chakra continued to surge through his veins, and his muscles were tensing as the station quietened down. Without the fighting- which Naruto realised had barely lasted for five minutes- the Exports Station once again became deathly still. There was an uneasy feeling, and something was tingling on his senses. For all the shinobi they had just fought, Naruto still hadn't come across a shinobi who had demonstrated a skill necessary enough to cut through solid iron walls.

Something flashed in the corner of his eye, and then yellow light encroached on his vision. There was tremendous clap, like thunder, and then a searing ring of yellow lightning tore through his earth wall in an instant. Naruto had ducked just in time, but the heat of the technique seared his face and he could feel his skin blistering as his mask was scorched. He ignored the pain as he twisted in the air, falling with the debris of his wall, and he used it push himself away from the dissipating electrical strike.

Yuna did not. She landed in a dazed crouch, and her whip came up as somebody lunged at her. Her teeth bared, she lashed out with her bloodied sickle blade, imbued with her chakra and the strength of multiple-woven thick, steel wires. There was a flash of yellow light and Yuna jerked. Her purple eyes widened in disbelief, and, as Naruto righted himself, he watched as the Jonin's whip was cut away with a single, precise stroke- a stroke that ended up embedded in the Jonin's chest.

The silver-haired woman's mouth opened into a little, surprised expression, and she let out a small wheeze of air before she fell to the ground in a limp heap. Naruto clambered to his feet, his fury rising as his chakra surged around him. A gleaming leaf-headband glinted in the fires raging around them as the slender man turned around, his grey eyes gleaming dangerously.

Naruto knew who he was. He made it a point to know all of the traitors of Konoha. He bared his teeth in anger, his fingers clenching.

"Rokusho Aoi," he snarled. "You traitor!"

* * *

><p>Rokusho Aoi, former Chunin of Konohagakure and an A-rank Missing Nin. Rokusho Aoi, who had deceived his Genin Team into infiltrating the home of the Senju. Rokusho Aoi, who had murdered Sarutobi Konohamaru's father and stolen the legendary weapon of the Second Hokage. Rokusho Aoi, in the top ten of most wanted criminals in Konohagakure.<p>

Rokusho Aoi, the second wielder of the legendary _Raijin- _the Sword of the Thunder God.

The traitorous missing Nin, Rokusho Aoi, did not look like he was in the mood for talking. Jonin Sasaki Yuna was critically injured, most likely dead. There was unlikely to be any support from nearby samurai squads. Uzumaki Naruto was alone, against an enemy Jonin possessing a powerful weapon. Any shinobi would need to exercise extreme caution under those circumstances.

In Naruto's case, the first thing he did was _stop_

Then, he took all of his anger and outrage and shock and burrowed it deep within him.

After that, he carefully analysed the scene in front of him.

_Deployment of enemy forces- one, shoulder tilted to the left…balanced on back foot… no visible strain holding sword- conclusion: right-handed, uses left hand to supplement attacks – status of the weapon- lightning-chakra based…able to pierce chakra shrouds and cut through Grade III flak-vest… investigate properties of the blade._

This thought process took place in an instant, and it was all the time that Naruto needed to formulate his next strategy. His mind eerily calm, he tensed his legs and prepared to leap backwards, as Aoi tensed his legs and prepared to lunge. He jumped back as Aoi surged forward, _Raijin_ glowing ominously, and Naruto threw fistfuls of shuriken at him. Chakra surged through his body as he moulded a technique.

_Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!_

A dozen shuriken became a hundred, all bearing down on Aoi. The treacherous Jonin swung the_ Raijin_, and the night sky was filled with yellow light, and a small boom of something like thunder filled the air. An arc of glowing yellow electricity slammed into the wall of metal projectiles and slapped them aside with ease. Naruto felt the hairs on the back of his neck tingle as he landed neatly on the ground, his hands already forming seals.

_Weapon acted as a blunt instrument, swatting instead of cutting. Identify piercing properties._

_Wind Release: Great Wind Breakthrough!_

Wind elemental chakra burst from his hands, and he propelled the great cloud of wind forward at great speeds. The night sky howled as the great gust of wind burst forward, picking up little bits of rock, debris and discarded kunai and shuriken. It wasn't aimed directly at Aoi either. Rather, it picked up a fallen little cart off of the ground- no bigger than a person- and sent it bouncing forward towards the enemy. Just as the metal cart was about to hit him, Aoi cut it aside with a single swipe and a blaze of yellow chakra.

_Slicing and piercing qualities of blade impressive… avoid close-combat, focus on ninjutsu supplemented with tools… investigate nature of the chakra blade- self-sustained or channelled chakra?_

Naruto immediately began retreating, taking to the roofs of the nearby railway carts in order to gain the upper ground. His hands blurred, and his head reared back as Aoi jumped up to follow him. Fire spewed from his mouth, billowing out in front of him, but Aoi swiped at it with the _Raijin_ and the fire stuck to his glowing blade like glue, which was then flung away with contemptuous ease. Naruto palmed a kunai and suddenly darted forward. The blade came up, and the _Raijin_ came down. The kunai was cut through like a hot knife through butter, and Naruto was impaled the chest. The masked blonde twitched and exploded in a cloud of smoke, and Aoi stopped short. There was a high-pitched swish, and kunai shot down from the top of a nearby stone building. They impacted on the cart, sizzling, and Aoi's eyes widened. Then the explosive tags detonated, and the ground rumbled as the cart went up in flames.

Aoi reappeared from the top of the cart, back on the ground, and he held a defensive stance. Hidden on the top of the roof, Naruto watched as the enemy pointed the legendary weapon in his direction, smirking nastily. An instant later, the _Raijin_'s blade retracted and the yellow light disappeared.

Naruto cocked his head.

Then, there was a tremendous boom, like a thunderstorm, and the yellow light flared. From the hilt of the _Raijin_ came a powerful bolt of yellow crackling light, which ripped through the air in a flash. Naruto's eyes widened and he threw himself off of the roof- and just in time, as the lightning bolt tore through the stone building with ease and sent it crumpling to the ground in pieces. Naruto landed on the ground awkwardly, and barely managed a replacement technique to avoid a deadly swipe of the sword. He fell back again, his hands flying.

_Wind Release:_ _Wind Cutter Technique!_

An almost invisible scythe of sharpened wind erupted from his hands. He threw it at Aoi, who brushed it aside with the _Raijin_ like he had everything else and continued charging forward. Naruto fell back, discreetly hurling objects on the ground as he did so, and as Aoi followed him he pulled on the cable wrapped around his palm. The wire tightened, and shuriken and kunai rose up off the ground in a neatly-laid trap. They soared at Aoi, and explosive tags hissed, but the other Jonin swished his blade and great arcs of yellow lightning threw it all aside. In the time that it had taken, however, Naruto had gained more distance between him and his enemy- and he had learned two important things.

Firstly, the _Raijin_ did not seem to share the common weakness to many lightning elemental techniques- the use of wind-based techniques to disperse and disrupt chakra flow. Secondly, Aoi seemed heavily dependent on his weapon, and had not shown off many other skills. He undoubtedly had some in reserve, so it seemed to Naruto that he needed to disarm Aoi and quickly move in for the kill before the other Jonin could demonstrate them.

"So that's where you went," Naruto called out loudly. He threw a barrage of kunai and darted away as Aoi again tried to close the gap. "The Land of Rain. What a perfect place for a skulking traitor like you to hide away in. Did Hanzo make you lick his shoes before he let you in, or did you whore yourself out?"

Aoi smiled thinly, his shadow flickering as the glowing yellow light of the _Raijin_ blazed in his hands. "You have no idea what you're talking about," he replied.

"I know that you were a Chunin who was held back from a Jonin ranking for three years in a row," Naruto continued. "I know you conned a team of genin under your commander to steal the _Raijin_ and the Scroll of Forbidden Seals. I know you killed two ANBU, and tortured a third. And, now I know that you ran away to the Land of Rain, knowing that it would be hard for Konoha to find you."

Aoi tensed, and then lunged. Naruto was quicker, darting back and flinging out shuriken as he tactically retreated. Aoi swatted them all away as he tried to close the distance, but Naruto formed a sign and moulded a technique, and the ground beneath Aoi cracked and rumbled, forcing the traitor back. Lava began to seep through the cracks, and Aoi looked frustrated.

"Just leave," he snapped to Naruto. "This has nothing to do with you, nor Konoha. Turn around, walk away, and let me have what I came for."

"You murdered a Konoha Jonin," Naruto responded flatly. He could feel his disgust rising. "What makes you think you can just leave?"

"I hold the supreme weapon of the Second Hokage," Aoi growled. The _Raijin_ in his hands grew brighter and brighter. "This is the same sword that killed seventeen members of Kumo's elite Kinkaku Force. It won't have any problems dealing with you. Walk away, ANBU."

From behind his mask, Naruto sneered. "A legendary weapon in the hands of scum just makes it 'good'." He leant forward menacingly. "And you're going to need to be better than 'good' to beat me."

Aoi opened his mouth to respond, but three shadow clones of Naruto stopped him as they appeared, their hands blurring. A distinct pressure settled in the air, angry and dark, pushing back everything it touched, as Naruto folded his chakra back on itself until it felt like his _tenketsu_ would burst. This unique style, taught to him by the God of all Shinobi, was known to few, and allowed him to perform techniques that would normally require many shinobi working collaboratively to achieve.

Sarutobi Hiruzen could do it alone. Uzumaki Naruto needed shadow clones to help- yet the results were no less effective.

_Earth Release: Earth-Flow River!_

_Fire Release: Blazing River!_

_Wind Release: Great Wind Breakthrough!_

_Earth Release: Seismic Upheaval!_

The first shadow clone moulded earth elemental chakra and slapped its hands on the ground. The pockmarked and gravely earth softened and became a surging river of mud. The second shadow clone moulded fire elemental chakra and set the mud alight. It thickened, become a dark, glowing river of tar. The third shadow clone moulded wind elemental chakra, and threw out a powerful gust of wind from its hands, which fuelled the deadly flames of the river and propelled it forward.

Aoi stepped back, raising the _Raijin_- and he made a move as if he were going to attempt to cut through it. Then the original Uzumaki Naruto struck, and the seismic upheaval technique caused the ground around the traitor to rumble and groan. Aoi staggered back, his balance shaken, and disappeared under a wave of hissing steam and glowing tar as the surging tide of tar exploded in a magnificent volley of geysers. The sticky, scorching tar stuck on anything it touched, and the wood around it- uprooted sleepers in the railway tracks, wooden carts and boxes, and so forth- caught alight. There was a flash of yellow, and Aoi managed to leap away from the devastating display of ninjutsu.

_Wind Release: Air Bullets!_

From the rising steam and smoke of the fires came a series of propelled spheres of compressed wind. In the air, Aoi managed to deflect one with the _Raijin_, and twisted around another, but a third struck him in the chest. His armour cracked and Aoi spluttered, mouth opening in shock. Still, the traitor was well-trained enough to land gracefully, almost immediately rolling out of the way as another volley of wind bullets shot past him. They struck the wall behind him, gouging out large chunks of rock. A second later, Aoi had to jump up the side of the wall and darted to the roof as a wave of red-hot fire descended upon the entire area. Sweat was beading on Aoi's forehead as he took a defensive stance, the _Raijin _held in front of him as he surveyed the area around him carefully.

Naruto had used the smoke and steam to hide himself. A clone walked out of the mist, seemingly unaffected by the heat, while Naruto took to the roof.

"You don't understand!" Aoi roared. He shook his head despairingly. "Just… just go away! This doesn't have to involve Konoha. Let me take the supplies and leave!"

"About that…" The voice of Naruto's clone was dry. "Just why are you stealing this stuff? This is a lot of trouble for some shuriken and kunai. I thought Hanzo would have had better sense. Then again, he did take _you_ on…"

Aoi looked seemingly shocked. Then, eyes wild, he threw his head back and laughed. The real Naruto frowned. It was the laugh of a desperate man, and it had a severely unhinged and hysterical quality to it.

"Oh, Hanzo would have had better sense," Aoi replied, chuckling manically. His eyes gleamed. "He would, if his brain hadn't been splattered all over Rain's Central Spire!" He giggled, and hiccupped.

The real Naruto flinched as if he had been struck.

What? Hanzo the Salamander was _dead_?

"Did you do it, Aoi?" Naruto's clone was quick to capitalise on the traitor's deteriorating mental state. "Did you kill Hanzo the Salamander?"

"You don't even know," Aoi's voice was strange. "You poor bastard. You don't even know, of you, Uzumaki Naruto?"

The clone cocked his head. "You know who I am," it said. "I'm touched. Then again, how many short, blonde ANBU are there, really?"

Aoi grinned, and it wasn't a happy grin. "They're going to come for you, Uzumaki," he promised. "They're going to come and rip you apart from the inside."

"Who are?" The clone's voice had a certain edge to it, but it received no answer. Finally, it switched to a new line of questioning. "Why do you even care if Hanzo is dead? Are you worried-"

"Shut up!" Aoi roared. The yellow blade in his hand flared with light, his chakra surging as a result of his anger. "Hanzo was a great man! He took me in, trained me, and made me a Jonin! All he ever care about was keeping his people safe! Now he's dead! Killed by those…I hate _them_ so much!"

The light in his hand abruptly died down.

"I'll continue his fight," Aoi promised with burning vengeance. He levelled the hilt of the sword at the clone, who watched him stoically. "I'll push the enemy out of the capital, back into the Downpour, and wipe them out one by one!"

Chakra began to build up around the hilt of the _Raijin,_ a wave of yellow motes sparkling into existence. Little flashes of lightning crackled around them, and Aoi smiled.

"Just die, ANBU." Aoi's voice was cold.

In an abrupt movement, Aoi spun around and levelled the hilt at the large concrete building that the real Naruto had been hiding in. Hidden in the shadows, Naruto's eyes widened and a brilliant light flared into existence. He surged out of the shadows, barely noticing his shadow clone darting up from behind Aoi, before thunder boomed through the air. A streak of yellow lightning roared out at him, and he dived off of the building, wrapping himself up in the ANBU cloak he wore.

Behind him, he could feel a sudden flash of heat, and then a cacophony of noise assaulted him as the building was torn apart in an instant. Little bits of stone and debris flew through the air, and he felt several thuds against the back of his ANBU cloak. He untangled himself as he landed, barely registering the death of his shadow clone, and had to use the Replacement Technique almost immediately as _Raijin_ came arcing through the air towards him. It tore apart a lump of twisted, burned metal- Naruto had replaced with a small cart on the tracks, and he wove signs as quickly as he could.

_Summoning Technique: Arise, Titan!_

The ground rumbled ominously and a giant hand of stone burst from the earth. It was coated with soot and tar, glowing molten rock dripping from its huge fingers, and it lunged at Aoi, enclosing him and squeezing. Then, yellow light flashed and the earth construct was blown apart. Aoi emerged, the _Raijin_ blazing erratically, swatting away blades of wind and storms of shuriken and kunai. He lifted the legendary weapon above his head and spun it, and an arc of crackling yellow light tore out at everything around him, forcing Naruto to backpedal furiously.

They were fighting quite close to the large pit in the ground, where molten rock was oozing to the surface. It gave off a dim red glow and a terrible heat. Broken tracks led to it, the metal twisted and dripping as they fell over the edge. Naruto darted to the left, and jumped up on top of a wooden railway cart. Half of it was already dangling over the edge, and it creaked and groaned ominously underneath his feet.

_Earth Release: Mud Flow River!_

The gritty earth beneath Aoi's feet liquefied and with an undignified yell, the traitor was pulled and battered along the ground towards the pit of molten rock. He raised the _Raijin_, yellow light already blossoming, but it faded as Naruto detonated several explosive tags around him, bits of earth and metal zipping through the air. Aoi disappeared beneath the surface of the mud, and Naruto tensed as the flowing river of earth passed underneath the cart he was standing on.

Then, his instincts screamed at him, and he jumped back as a wave of crackling lightning tore apart the front half of the cart. A connector snapped, and with a groan the whole construct began to fall backwards into the steaming pile of molten rock. Naruto leapt away, but something slammed into him in mid-air, and a blow to the back of the head turned his world blurry. He slammed into the hard, ground, trying desperately to blink away white spots, and rolled over. Almost immediately after, the ground where he had been was carved open, and Aoi appeared.

The traitor lunged forward and Naruto darted back a little too late. The _Raijin_ carved a gouge in the front of his armour, tearing through the high-quality armour with ease. An uncomfortable heat spread around his torso, and Naruto could have sworn he heard and smelt the sizzling of his flesh- but he didn't have time to stop. He angled backwards, and as Aoi came for a second deadly lunge, Naruto twisted around and caught him in the chin with his foot. Aoi staggered backwards for half-a-second- and Naruto regained his balance, a kunai appearing in his hand.

Then Aoi attacked. For Naruto, close combat was not the idea situation in which to face Aoi, but he had little choice. He settled in a Monkey Fist stance, and the fight began. Naruto was not able to block, deflect or parry the _Raijin_, so he settled on dodging it. The _Raijin_ gave off a distinct hum this close, and Naruto could feel the hairs on the back of his neck stand up on end as he avoided yet another deadly slash. His small form and good speed helped him with this, and a few moments later he saw an opportunity. His kunai blurred as he lashed out at Aoi, catching the traitor in the arm and making the man hiss in pain.

It became a fast paced blur of movement. Naruto's head was already a bit light, and the blow from before was beginning to make him dizzy. As the _Raijin_ blurred through the air, Naruto was sucked into flashes and flickers of glowing light, and for a time he fought on pure instinct.

Duck. Thrust. Roll. Kick. Duck. Attack. Step back. Roll. Attack. Sidestep. Chop. Attack.

The _Raijin _blurred all around him as Aoi failed to strike at him a single time. Yet, he was forcing Naruto on the defensive, and there was no time for hand-seals. A single blow to the _Raijin_ would be all it took to kill him.

Backpedal. Kick up the dust. Lunge. Parry arm. Thrust. Arm trapped- kick, free. Roll. Kunai to kneecap. Swipe with leg. Roll. Throw shuriken. Loop wire. Tighten. Dodge! Palm kunai. Slash. Duck. Throw. Jump. Block kick! Move low. Palm kunai. Palm explosive tag. Slash with Kunai. Slap on tag. Roll away. Detonate!

For a moment, Naruto thought it was over as the explosive tag sizzled on Aoi's armour. Then, as quick as a snake, Aoi slithered out from underneath it and hurled it at Naruto. Naruto's eyes widened and his kicked it to the side. Then, he raised his hand and made the _Snake_ sign.

The tag on the armour exploded- and a puff of smoke emerged, but little else. At the same time, the explosive tag that Naruto had managed to slip on Aoi's leg also detonated, and Aoi cried out in pain as his leg buckled underneath him. It had only been Grade 1 tag- anything bigger would have alerted the Jonin to the ploy- but it was enough to turn the man's leg into a charred mess and make Aoi stagger. A second later, Naruto was there, and he lashed out with his kunai.

It struck, and Aoi gurgled, clutching at his neck as Naruto gripped it, trying to slit his throat. The _Raijin_ fell to the ground, forgotten, and in a burst of movement, Aoi raised his fist and struck Naruto in the face. His mask caught it and Naruto's vision swam- and then he was punched again and again, each blow making his mask rattle. Naruto pulled on the kunai and was rewarded with a splutter of pain, but then his legs were kicked out from beneath him and the two shinobi fell to the ground.

They grappled. Naruto was on top, still gripping the kunai lodged in the side of Aoi's neck, while Aoi gripped his arm with one hand and struck out with the other. The rolled on the ground, wrestling with each other frantically, and Naruto found himself pinned underneath Aoi's bigger size. He raised his head- only to have it slammed back down with Aoi's palm, and the back of his head met something hard underneath him. Naruto cried out, and Aoi grinned between bloodied teeth- but momentum of the attack had left Aoi open, and Naruto twisted the kunai his neck. Aoi let out a muffled scream, which was only intensified as Naruto managed to bring his leg up and kneed him in the groin.

The grip on Naruto's other arm loosened, and with a tug he managed to free it, leaving the kunai stuck in Aoi's throat. He palmed another kunai and stabbed blindly, feeling the blade puncture flesh. Something sticky ran over his hands, and Aoi's frantic movements grew even more frenzy. In that split-second, Naruto pushed Aoi away from him, rolled on top and lifted the kunai. Panting, bleeding, and sweating, Naruto thrust down with murderous intent-

- and a swipe of a crackling yellow blade tore into his chest. Naruto spluttered, every nerve in his body screaming at him, and the low half of his armour slowly fell away. Flesh sizzled and bubbled, and the taste of boiling blood filled his mouth. The large sizzling gouge in his chest had torn through several of his ribs, but it had done little else. Had the blade been one of metal then his guts would have come tumbling out, but the _Raijin_ had cauterised the wound as soon as it had made it, leaving Naruto wounded but alive.

As such, he redirected his thrust and brought the kunai down on Aoi's shoulder. Aoi's arm buckled, the _Raijin_ falling from his grasp, and a second later Naruto had slipped an explosive tag on the man's chest. Aoi stared back at him, his eyes wild, blood seeping through the kunai stabbed in his neck, his leg charred and burning, his body broken. Then, Naruto rolled away, grabbed at something, and curled up in a ball.

A second later, Aoi exploded. The ground around him shuddered and rumbled, and it began to break away, falling into the pit of molten rock behind him. Panting, Naruto lifted his head and watched. The charred, burning remains of Aoi's body began to sink into the molten rock, an expression of wild terror permanently etched on the corpse's face. Naruto staggered to his feet, aching, blistered and burned, the adrenaline still pulsing in his veins, and watched as the traitor immolated on a pyre of magma.

It was only when his senses began returning to him did he feel the cool case of metal in his hands. Naruto looked down and smiled grimly, flexing his hands around the legendary weapon.

* * *

><p>In the end, the battle at the Manufactorium worked out in Konoha's favour.<p>

Naruto was told that Konoha had made a very reasonable offer on the latest contract, and that the Feudal Lord of the Land of Birds had accepted. For shipments of high-quality weapon and the latest merchandise from the premium weapons factory, all it had cost Konoha was the life of one of their Jonin.

The body of Sasaki Yuna was properly disposed of, and her name was etched on the memorial stone within Konoha. Naruto missed her memorial service. As her name was being etched on the stone, watched by many of her former comrades, he was standing in the Hokage's office. His face was blank and his shoulders were squared as he stood before the Third Hokage, the last of the Senju Clan and the Fire Lord.

There was a short ceremony, where Naruto returned the legendary _Raijin_ to its traditional owners. He received a medal, and a tiny piece of gold smelt in the shape of an oak branch was pinned to his uniform- an award for his services rendered to the Senju Clan.

The words and the actions of those before him were mostly lost on Naruto. His chest had been bandaged heavily, and the Medic-Nin had given him something _nice_, and all of his pain and troubles had sort of floated away. However, the faces of his superiors were what he remembered.

Sarutobi Hiruzen sat behind his table, his hands folded. His face was expressionless and hard, his skin wrinkled and creased. But there was something dark in his eyes, a sense of vicious satisfaction, and the old man soon rose to congratulate the young shinobi who had avenged his son.

Senju Tsunade stood there, her face a perfect picture of boredom, but her knuckles were white as she clutched the treasure of her clan. It was hard to tell what the _Sannin_ was thinking as she gazed upon the relic of her Great-Uncle, completely ignoring everybody else in the room. In her presence, the necklace on his chest felt warm to his chest.

The Fire Lord topped them all. He watched Naruto with a strange sort of glee, and his eyes never left Naruto even as he prattled on nonsensically to Sarutobi and Tsunade- and as the Fire Lord was leaving, he patted Naruto on the back with a strange little smile on your face.

"You've done some great things, young shinobi, oh yes," the noble murmured. "I think I will have to watch your career with interest, oh yes, with much interest indeed."


	24. The Pack

In had been five days since Naruto had first departed to the Manufactorium, and the 30th International Chunin Exams were scheduled to begin in Konoha in two days. Konoha as packed to the brim with foreign guests, dignitaries and tourists. During this time, Naruto found himself in a small examination room in Konoha's hospital. He sat on an examination table, unwrapping his bandages, while his Medic-Nin stood above him, her palms glowing. After a few moments, she nodded, made a satisfied 'tsk' and lowered her hands.

"Well, that should be just about it," Tsunade declared briskly.

Naruto gingerly took off the last of the bandages wrapped around his chest and let them flutter to the floor. Most of his burns and blisters had been healed quite easily, but the large, sizzling gouge that the _Raijin_ had slashed into his chest had required some extra effort. Luckily, Tsunade had been more than willing to get Naruto onto the medical table and heal him.

Even if this 'healing' had been more painful than actually receiving the injury.

Still, Tsunade was the medical genius of the Elemental Countries, and it took less than a week for her to heal most of the damage the slash had caused. It would have been a fatal wound for many others, but with his enhanced stamina and longevity Naruto had been able to recover much quicker than normally anticipated. Still, it certainly had been a debilitating strike, and it could have kept Naruto out of action for weeks, if not months, if it hadn't been treated properly. Even then, despite Tsunade's skills, there was still a rather nasty scar and patch of whitened, burnt skin. Naruto stared at it with wide blue eyes, his mouth open in fascination as he traced a finger over the skin. He couldn't feel a thing.

"Neural degeneration," Tsunade explained briskly. She took off her gloves and tossed back her blonde ponytails. "It might heal. It might not. There's nothing we can do about the scar though."

Naruto frowned. He flexed his muscles and adopted a small pose. Tsunade watched him with a cocked eyebrow as he made a few poses, grinning.

"Hey," Naruto said, looking up and smiling, "I look pretty cool, don't I?"

Tsunade's eyes widened. For a moment, she stood there, her face blank and her eyes glazed over. Naruto just waited. This happened to the legendary Sannin every so often, or so Naruto had seen. Something somebody would say would trigger an old memory, and Tsunade would be lost in her thoughts. It was always hard to tell what she was thinking, but it was best to let her have her time alone.

Otherwise she might punt you into the ground.

Naruto felt his phantom bruises and shivered. He quietly stood up and put on his black t-shirt. Then, after picking up the bandages and placing them on the examination table, he walked quietly past the Sannin and towards the door. Something gripped him on the shoulder and he paused. He turned his head, and saw Tsunade staring down at him.

"You know," she murmured, "You almost died." Her hand snaked forward, reaching into his shirt, and Naruto felt her tug at the First Hokage's necklace that he wore. "Based on the angle of the blade, the _Raijin_ should have bisected your lung- but something stopped it."

Her hand against his skin was warm, and he could feel a curiously pulsing chakra emanating from the crystal. A soft green light bathed the room, and Naruto glanced down with wide eyes. In the hand of a Senju, the crystal shone with a beautiful light, as if confirming Tsunade's hypothesis. It was possible, Naruto supposed, that the Senju-made blade had recognised the heirloom of the Senju and had stopped short of its attack. Whatever the reason was, it made Tsunade smiled sadly. Then, her golden-brown eyes narrowed and her face twitched with anger. She wrenched her hand back from underneath his shirt and slammed it into the wall next to her. Naruto felt a sudden pressure, and he staggered back as the wall cracked and exploded outwards.

"Tell me,brat," she hissed furiously. A golden light was beginning to form around her, and her chakra was beginning to fill the room with its deadly, oppressive presence. "What do you have that _they _didn't? Why did it kill them and protect you?!"

Naruto didn't know what to say. He also didn't know what she was talking about, but he thinking about his other encounters with the woman, he was sure he could hazard a guess. He remained silent as Tsunade panted angrily, her fists clenched. For a moment, he wondered of the legendary Medic-Nin was going to attack, but then the woman snorted and lowered her fist.

"Whatever," Tsunade sighed. She sounded disgruntled, angry and sad all at the same time, yet there was an echo of fondness in her voice. She raised her hand and ruffled his hair, ignoring Naruto's squirms. "Go away, brat, and don't die."

"I'll try not to," Naruto answered honestly.

Tsunade let out a bark of a laugh. "Oh, they all try," she said darkly.

Naruto was glad to leave.

* * *

><p>After the dirty, smelly and noisy stay at the Manufactorium, Naruto was glad to be back in Konoha. The trees rose above the village, and birds flew to and from them, chirping noisily. The sky was blue, the sun bright in the sky and the wind cool to his masked face. Naruto stared out at the scenery of the village for a little while longer, then mentally sighed and finished making the tea. He picked up the cup and carefully balanced a plate of biscuits and sweet treats in the crook of his elbow. Walking around the Hokage's Office, he avoided the numerous visitors sitting around the desk and silently placed the cup and plate in front of Sarutobi.<p>

The Third Hokage, for his part, was dressed in his official robes and hat, and looked pensive as the Jonin and officials around him talked to each other quietly. The meeting had yet to start, and they all seemed to be waiting for something. Sarutobi reached for his tea and gingerly took a sip.

Naruto held his breath. It was in situations like these that the Hokage liked to make a fool of him. When nothing happened, he released a mental sigh and began to relax.

Perhaps it was a bit too soon. Naruto caught a flicker of movement in the corner of his eye, and instinctively raised his hands. The cup of tea and its contents shattered on his armoured wrist-guards, and Sarutobi loomed over his desk, his face thunderous.

"Who are you?!" He barked loudly. He shook a fist in Naruto's direction. "Identify yourself, imposter!"

Naruto sighed, picking little bits of broken ceramics from his armour. "Uzumaki Naruto, registration code 012607, Sigma Squad," he answered dully.

"Liar!" Sarutobi roared.

The old man picked up a heavy book on his desk and hurled it at Naruto. It came hurtling at Naruto as fast as any shuriken, but the young blond avoided it easily, and it slammed into the wall behind him. The ten or so Jonin watched the spectacle with amusement, although a few of them eyed Naruto and the tome with a speculative look.

"What have I done this time, Hokage-sama?" Naruto asked. He batted away another thrown object and rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"My tea…" Sarutobi trailed off. He shook his head. "Your deception is good. It's very good, but you forgot one thing when you murdered my stupid apprentice and took his image. He. Can't. Make. Tea!"

Naruto's face scrunched up underneath his mask. "What? I can so!" he said indignantly.

"Liar!" Sarutobi slammed his hands on the table. The smack echoed loudly in the room, and the plate of biscuits bounced into the air and fell to the ground with a smash. "He's terrible at it! He never remembers the sugar!"

"I always remember the sugar!" Naruto snapped.

"I don't _like_ sugar!" Sarutobi snapped right back. "Naruto would know that!"

"What?" Naruto asked incredulously. "You won't have tea without sugar! You insist on it! Whenever I don't give you your sugar, you punt me through the Training Grounds and call it practise!"

"I've always hated sugar!" Sarutobi snapped back. He reared back, apparently ready to give Naruto another tongue-lashing, when he spotted something on the floor. The air chilled. "Are those my biscuits?" the old man asked quietly.

Naruto spotted the mess. "Probably," he shrugged.

The Hokage eyed Naruto with a dangerous look. His face looked as if he could have been carved from stone, and the Jonin around him suddenly looked uncomfortable. Naruto ignored the rise in pressure, far too used to it by now.

"You assassinated my biscuits…" Sarutobi whispered. He shook his head. "Such a thing can not go unpunished. Prepare yourself!"

"You did it yourself, you crazy bas-" Naruto was cut off as Sarutobi made a single hand sign.

_Biscuit Shuriken Technique!_

With a deft application of chakra, the crumbled biscuits shot at Naruto and hit in the face. With his mask on, all Naruto was felt was the pitter and patter of crumbs striking the ceramic mould. He waited until the Hokage was done.

"Alas, I am defeated," the blond ANBU said without a single trace of sarcasm. "Forgive me, Hokage-sama."

But when he turned to look at the old man, he was sitting at his desk appearing to be resting peacefully, his head lolled back and his eyes hidden underneath his mask. At the same time, the door to his office opened, and the ANBU Commander entered, flanked by the elders, Koharu and Homura. The two respected Jonin eyed Naruto, and Naruto saw Koharu sniff and Homura give him a disapproving glance.

"Wha- huh?" Sarutobi murmured, rising out from his assumed slumber. He took one look at the arrivals, and at Naruto, and his face turned dark. "You idiot! What's this mess? Clean this up right now!"

Koharu and Homura walked past Naruto and took a seat around the waiting Jonin. The ANBU Commander followed them, but he paused in front of his subordinate.

"You have some crumbs on your robes," he said emotionlessly.

Naruto brushed them off. "Thanks," he muttered sarcastically.

The Commander cocked his head. "You're welcome," he replied sincerely, and with a short nod he moved forward to take a place at the Hokage's left-hand side.

Naruto left the office to go and get a broom. When he came back, the Jonin were gone, and they had been replaced by the who's-who in Konoha's Intelligence Department. Koharu and Homura sat on either side of the Third Hokage. Nara Shikaku sat in the corner, hands clasped as he watching the proceedings looking bored. Next to him sat Yamanaka Inoichi, from Konoha's Department of Communication. Then there was Morino Ibiki, from the Torture and Interrogation Force, and Tanaka Yurika from the Cryptology Team.

They were deep in conversation, and while some eyes flickered to Naruto as he entered, most of them ignored him, used to his presence by the Hokage. Naruto quietly cleaned up the mess, listening in as Ibiki spoke with his gravelly voice.

"…at the moment, we have no evidence to suggest that Rokusho Aoi's claims are correct," Ibiki was saying. "For all intents and purposes, Hanzo the Salamander is still the reigning leader of the Land of Rain."

"Can the word of a Missing-Nin be trusted?" Inoichi pondered. "Perhaps it was misinformation, to throw us off the trail of the truth."

"There was no purpose to it," Homura murmured. He shook his head, and coughed once into his fist.

"Information gathered in the heat of the battle is hardly reliable," Ibiki growled. It seemed to be his natural tone. He leaned forward, his trench coat brushing against the side of his chair. "All we have is one of shinobi who may or may not a passing sentence. That shinobi could be wrong."

Naruto finished cleaning up the mess, and silently walked back to his position behind the Hokage. He was scowling behind his mask, but his body language gave none of it away. Ibiki's eyes flickered to him, and then swung back to the Hokage, who looked deep in thought.

"Naruto," Sarutobi murmured, and conversation stilled. "You were there. What do you think?"

Naruto blinked, and then scratched his head. "Um…" he began.

Ibiki was already looking distinctly unimpressed, so Naruto took a deep breath and straightened.

"Aoi was desperate," he answered tonelessly. "He did not want to fight me. He and his team wanted the supplies, and that's it. If somebody had killed Hanzo, then that person would have to be incredibly powerful. Aoi was definitely scared. With his claims of Hanzo's death, and his reference to 'driving them out', it's possible that he was the leader of a resistance movement aimed at overthrowing whoever killed Hanzo."

"It would make sense," Shikaku spoke up for the first time. His voice was quiet, but everybody listened carefully. "Too much of this makes sense, despite the lack of evidence. Hanzo is killed- sometime in the last seven years, as that was when Aoi defected. His killer replaces him, and tightens the border. We _did _notice that, roughly one year ago. If Aoi was close to Hanzo, then the new ruler of the Land of Rain might not take too kindly to him. With his apparent loyalty to Hanzo, it's definitely possible that Aoi would take a stand, and to do that he would need supplies."

"So somebody kills Hanzo a year ago," Inoichi said thoughtfully, "There's a resistance movement. Aoi is part of it. They fight, probably using guerrilla tactics. But supplies are running out. Aoi takes a force to the Manufactorium, attempts to steal a shipment, and is stopped. Does that mean the resistance movement is still operational to this day?"

Ibiki opened his mouth, frowning, but he was cut off when somebody knocked twice on the door. Naruto twitched, and quickly strode across the room to open the door. A harried messenger stood there, holding a scroll and panting. He wordlessly passed it to Naruto, who took it. Noticing the red string and the insignia of the Inuzuka Clan, he quickly handed it over to the Hokage. Sarutobi opened it and read its contents.

"Oh dear," he murmured quietly. The rest of the room was silent. The old man looked up gravely. "Naruto. Take this scroll, and report to the Inuzuka farmlands. There is a matter of necessity that I need you to take up."

Naruto nodded. "Yes, Hokage-sama," he responded seriously. He took the scroll, and left the room in a quick _Body Flicker_.

* * *

><p>The Inuzuka Compound was located in Sector 20- and it was one of the few clan homes outside of the village walls. When the wild packs of the Inuzuka and their canine counterparts were first approached by the First Hokage, they had been naturally suspicious of the offer. It was a little known fact that the Inuzuka had clashed with the Senju nearly as many times as the Uchiha had.<p>

The roaming nomads had called large swathes of the Land of Fire home, and wild packs of the Inuzuka had torn through the land. They had been a savage, murderous clan, filled with primal instinct and bloodlust, and they had been a terrible bane upon the innocent men, women and children who were unfortunate enough to encounter them. In the past four hundred years, the Inuzuka clan had been responsible for the deaths of three of the Feudal Lords, and they had torn apart dozens- if not hundreds- of towns and communities. Their wild, unchecked aggression was only blunted by the presence of the Senju and Uchiha clans, who were often hired to put the Inuzuka down like the savage dogs they had been.

Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara had first encountered each other during one of these missions. Both clans had been hired after the Inuzuka had laid waste to an entire community, and a tentative agreement had been arranged. Twelve years old and skilled, Hashirama and Madara had been relatively inexperienced compared to who they grow up to become. It was said that Madara obtained the third tomoe of the Sharingan, and that Hashirama unlocked the secrets of his _Wood Release_ during their battle against the ferocious head of the Inuzuka Clan, a giant brute of a man who had gone down fighting with a wild grin on his face.

In the end, the Inuzuka had been hunted down and exterminated, and a wild clan that had once numbered in the thousands had been reduced to less than a thirty at the time of Konoha's founding. Although they loathed both the Senju and Uchiha, the Inuzuka knew that they could not survive without the protection their rival clans could provide. They were drafted into the new village- but only after demanding that they be granted lands around the village walls.

At any one time, the Inuzuka is only half-human. The bond with their canine counterparts was a two-way street. Their dogs became partners, and took on aspects of humanity- intelligence, reasoning, speech- but the Inuzuka were similarly affected. They took on aspects of the canine pack- the primal bestial disposition, the tight-knit bonding of the pack, and the ruthless hunting instinct. An Inuzuka could happily play with his daughter at one moment, and casually torture, murder and rape somebody else's daughter a minute later- and would feel no remorse or empathy.

For the Inuzuka, there was only the family of the pack. Fortunately, the current members of the clan had been imprinted with the notion that the entire village was its 'pack', and they contained some of the most loyal, reliable shinobi. As such, in a way they had been tamed, and attacked only at Konoha's command.

Unfortunately for Konoha's enemies, the Inuzuka were still just as ruthless and dangerous as they had been before. Few could escape their hunting packs, and many in the Land of Earth could testify- shinobi and civilian alike- that there was nothing more terrifying than the bloodthirsty calls an Inuzuka warband as they bore down on your homes and families.

But there were times when the imprinting weakened and failed over time. In cases like that, it was imperative that the Inuzuka clan member affected was captured and contained. As Naruto stared over the mauled, savaged corpse of a farmhand, he felt a headache brewing.

"Shit," he muttered darkly.

The smell of blood was bad, and the sticky substance had been sprayed all around the clearing. Somebody- or something- had torn the person to pieces, and Naruto had to look away. The nearby Inuzuka clan member nearly looked frantic with worry and panic. Whatever technique or method that Clan used to mark Konoha and the Land of Fire as 'the pack' must had been strong, because even the idea that an Inuzuka would harm a member of the Konoha like that was making the tough, reliable shinobi weep.

"Where did he go?" He asked the first guard, who had turned his head and was sobbing into his hands like a small child.

The guard raised a hand and shakily pointed it to the west. At the man's feet, the dog whimpered and curled up around his ankle, giving comfort to his bonded partner. For the moment, the two were inconsolable, and Naruto sighed. He reached for the scroll, unfurled it and read it again.

_A son has broken from the pack.  
>Come quickly.<em>

_Tsume._

Inuzuka Kozo was a twenty-four year old Chunin, bonded with a nineteen-year-old canine, Teruo. During his previous mission, Kozo and Teruo were assaulted by an enemy genjutsu, and received some serious psychological shock. That, combined with some moderate physical injury, had apparently broken the Inuzuka Imprinting, and Kozo and Teruo had descended into insanity and panic. Without the imprinting, there was no pack, and without a pack, the Inuzuka was nothing. They had broken out of the compound before the others had known what was happening, and disappeared into the farmlands and trees that surrounded Konoha.

It was a dangerous situation, in more ways than one. Kozo was untamed, uncontrollable and, from what Naruto could see, likely to kill anybody who crossed his path. Politically, this was also a disaster- especially with the Chunin Exams ready to commence in a couple of days. Konoha had gone to great lengths to portray the Inuzuka as 'reformed' and 'tamed'. Nobody wanted to hire a pack of savage murderers and rapists, after all (unless, of course, they actually did), and Naruto needed to contain the situation before anything more drastic happened.

He raised his hand, bit his thumb, and made the necessary hand-seals.

_Summoning Technique!_

There was a puff of smoke and a small monkey appeared. It chattered curiously, its wide eyes surveying the area with keen interest. It didn't seem to think much of the mutilated body nearby, because it scampered away, nose wrinkled up in disgust.

"I need you to find two scents," Naruto instructed it. He pointed at the body. "There should be the scent of another adult male, and a canine, on that body. See if you can find them, please."

The little monkey was nowhere near as great of a tracker as the Inuzuka were, but considering how his escorts were still bawling their eyes out, Naruto really didn't have much of a choice. Besides, from what he could tell, Kozo wasn't exactly in the right state of mind to be covering his tracks. Hopefully Naruto could find the rouge Inuzuka before he could do any more damage.

The monkey's chatters grew more excited and it began to scamper across the field, towards the tree line of the forest. Naruto spared one last glance at the Inuzuka, noting the man had fallen to his knees and was cradling the body like it was his own child, and rolled his eyes. Then, he began to follow his summon.

As he ran after the monkey, Naruto had to wonder exactly how Konoha kept such a tight leash on their dogs. The Inuzuka he had met were strong, crude and tough-as-nails, ready to dive into battle with a grin and a whoop of excitement. He had never seen one show distress, and he especially hadn't seen any weep before. Just what kind of powerful technique had the First Hokage brought down on the Inuzuka to keep them tame? What type of technique turned fully-trained shinobi into weeping children over the thought of 'betrayal'?

It was definitely effective. Had the Inuzuka rebelled during the early formation of Konoha, the Senju and Uchiha would have had no trouble in putting them down- especially if they had all been sobbing over their betrayal.

He entered the forest and took to the trees after the summon. They ran for at least ten minutes, delving deeper and deeper into Konoha's forests. Soon Naruto came across the first visible sign that he was on the right track, and he stopped to stare at the large, fresh gouge in the bark of the tree. He traced it with his fingers, and then continued.

More gouges appeared. In a small clearing not too far ahead, Naruto found more signs of Kozo's trail. Smaller plants and trees had been ripped out of the ground, and the earth had been torn up. The strong, acrid smell of urine filled his nose, and Naruto winced and adjusted the filters in his mask to block most of it out.

Kozo had been here, and not too long ago.

The monkey suddenly chittered, and Naruto's eyes widened. Then, both he and his summon disappeared in a whirl of movement as two spiralling _Gatsuga_ tore into them both. The monkey disappeared in a puff of smoke as Kozo's canine companion tore into him, while Naruto was sent hurtling to the ground. Something sharp and strong grabbed him, and he was struck a dozen times in a second as he hit the ground at full speed. The earth cracked and dust billowed into the air.

Naruto was motionless as a burly, strong figure crouched on his chest and raised a clawed hand. Naruto caught a glimpse of his features- long, shaggy brown hair, torn, bloodied rags as clothes, and an expression of complete and utter insanity- before the maddened Inuzuka howled and he bought his claws down. With a single strike, he tore Naruto's head from his shoulders.

Then the clone dispersed, and the real Naruto stepped out from behind the trunk of a great tree, his hands twisted into a hand-seal. His eyes were on the nin-dog, a beast of an animal that came up to his shoulders and watched him with cruel, yellow eyes

_Earth Release: Rock Pillar Prison!_

Large columns of rock shot up from the ground, smooth and dark, and they encased Kozo's canine in a prison of stone twice as tall as Naruto. The dog snarled, barking viciously, and attacked at the rock with its teeth, while Kozo let out a tremendous roar that shook the leaves around him. He lunged- not at Naruto, but at the prison- and struck at the pillars with his clawed hands. Each blow contained some strength behind it, because cracks and splinters began to fall off.

Naruto was not idle, however, and he palmed several spools of wire, looping them around a pair of kunai. He darted forward and hurled the kunai. One struck the Inuzuka in the shoulder, but he barely gave notice, while the other lodged in the canine's hind legs. It stumbled, and howled angrily.

Kozo noticed _that_.

With a snarl, he whirled around and advanced on Naruto. The young ANBU held his ground and twisted his hands into another seal. A shadow clone appeared next to him, and released a technique.

_Wind Release: Great Wind Breakthrough!_

The shadow clone sent a huge gust of wind that lifted Kozo off of his feet and sent him hurtling back. He crashed into the prison of rock and smashed into the pillars of stone. They cracked and shattered underneath the force, and Kozo tumbled into the prison, colliding with his canine partner. The shadow clone dispersed, all of its chakra used for the one technique, while the real Naruto took a step forward. He pulled on the loops of wire wrapped around his fingers, tightening the wire and making it taut- and then he released them. With a whip-like crack, the wire shot back to its other knot- the ones tied around the kunai lodged in Kozo and his partner, and they bound the mad Inuzuka up against the dog.

It wouldn't take long for Kozo to break through the wire, so Naruto summoned his chakra, folding it back on itself, making it denser and more potent. The ground around him shuddered, and leaves fell from the trees. He flipped through a series of seals, ending on and holding the 'hare' sign.

_Lightning Release: Four Pillar Bind!_

Most of the cracked pillars of the Rock Pillar Prison fell apart as lightning elemental chakra surged past them. However, the four corner pillars remained, and they seemed to glow with a greyish-silver sheen. An instant later, a cascade of crackling blue lightning shot out of them, enveloping everything within their area. Kozo and his canine companion took the full-force of the _B-rank _Lightning Technique with terrible, howling screams, and they fell to the ground, convulsing. They snarled and howled, and terrible, retching screams his Naruto's ears. Part of Kozo's shaggy mane of hair began to smoulder, and the smell of burnt skin and ozone filled the air.

Most people would have been put down after a few moments. Naruto had to keep the technique running for a full five minutes before he was satisfied that the pair had fallen unconscious.

With a sigh, he released the 'hare' sign and let the chakra around him begin to dissipate. The four pillars of stone began to collapse into piles of rubble, and silence began to fill the forest. It hadn't been a long fight, less than a minute, but Naruto's heart was pounding, adrenaline surging through his veins. It took him a few moments to calm down, and he spent them binding his targets up with wire. He made a few signs, and slammed his hand on the ground.

_Summoning Technique!_

There was a much bigger puff of smoke than before, and two large, grizzled apes appeared. Twice as tall as Naruto, they glared down at him, snorting and pawing the ground angrily. From behind his mask, Naruto smiled tightly.

"Take them, and make sure they don't get away," he ordered.

The two bigger apes didn't like him- and many (but not all) of the _Monkey Contract_ shared their sentiments- but they did as he ordered, most likely on behest of Enma, their leader. They grabbed the Inuzuka and followed Naruto as he made his way out of the forest and back towards the Inuzuka Clan Lands.

* * *

><p>They met with a full pack of Inuzuka at the site of the first murder. Somebody had taken the body away there were only patches of bloodied soil to suggest that something terrible had happened there. Nonetheless, many of the Inuzuka seemed visibly upset, and two dogs were whining as they curled around the ankles of their handler. The Clan Head, however, had dry eyes and watched Naruto shrewdly as he approached them, his ape summons towering over him.<p>

"Good afternoon," Naruto greeted politely.

Inuzuka Tsume just looked at him stonily. She was a dangerous looking woman, and Naruto felt strangely intimidated. She had a very feral look about her, with sharp teeth, long nails, tattooed cheeks, and she radiated an aura of that of a barely-tamed animal merely one prod away from violence. Her bright eyes flickered to the lumbering apes behind him, and she must have spotted Kozo, because her nostrils flared.

"Sit him down there," she ordered.

Naruto motioned with his head, and the two apes lumbered forward. They dropped the bound man and dog before the pack of Inuzuka, and then disappeared in puffs of smoke. Naruto stepped back as Tsume mercilessly delivered a brutal kick to Kozo's stomach. It was enough to rouse him, because he came back into consciousness coughing and spluttering. He began to snarl, but Tsume let out a wordless growl, and he stopped, whimpering.

"Kozo!" Tsume barked angrily. She raised her hand and slapped him across the cheek, the force of the blow sending him reeling. "Who am I, Kozo?"

Kozo snarled at her. Tsume slapped him again, baring her teeth, and something flickered on the man's maddened visage.

"T-Tsume!" He spoke gutturally, as if he had lost his ability to talk in the last three hours.

"What am I?" Tsume demanded.

His lip curled. "Pretender," he snarled. "Tamed whore!"

Tsume slapped him again, and he began laughing. Tsume stood back and turned to Naruto. Her eyes were no longer bright, and something dangerous lurked underneath them. She smiled at him, baring her teeth.

"Pass on my thanks to the Hokage," she said. "Now, leave. This is not for the eyes of outsiders."

Naruto did as he was told. He didn't want to know what was about to happen, but he was sure he would never see Kozo again.

* * *

><p>"…monitor the perimeter and combine our intelligence efforts with Suna's Browncloaks," somebody was saying as Naruto entered the Hokage's office.<p>

Naruto met the eyes of Sarutobi and gave him a short, quick nod. The Third Hokage looked faintly satisfied, and he leaned back in his chair as Naruto came to stand behind him. It was a familiar site to many in the office, the Third Hokage with his loyal aide sitting in the shadows, and as usual most of them ignored Naruto, accepting him as an inevitable presence in their highly-classified meetings.

Only Nara Shikaku ever gave Naruto a second glance. Naruto didn't know why.

The meeting went on for another half an hour, and in the end not much had really been accomplished. The intelligence that Naruto had come back to Konoha with was ultimately unreliable, and there was much of substance to back it up. Yet, as Yamanaka Inoichi tore through Naruto's testimony and report briskly, Naruto had the sense that there were some at the table who though it to be correct.

Nara Shikaku was brooding far too much and Sarutobi had rested his chin on his hands, his eyes half-closed and distant. They were both signs that the two intelligent shinobi were disturbed by the possibility, and for good measure.

Both the Second and Third Shinobi War had been framed by Hanzo the Salamander's presence. In the Second War, Hanzo had proven to be a pivotal presence as he simultaneously routed two opposing armies. Both Konoha and Iwa had been slaughtered by the hundreds as Hanzo and his forces drove them into the Plains of the Downpour and back into their respective lands. The _Sannin_ had been the last to leave, fighting off Hanzo in an effort to save Konoha's Second Division. In the Third War, Hanzo's mere presence changed the battlefields completely as both Iwa and Konoha had avoided the Land of Rain, and instead had taken their fighting to the Land of Grass.

The strategic implications of Hanzo's death would be enormous.

As the last of the shinobi left the room, Naruto made a cup of tea. He silently placed it in front of Sarutobi, who gave a grunt of thanks and took a small sip. There were no antics this time, and Sarutobi looked quite disturbed. When it became apparent that the Third Hokage would remain silent, Naruto began to clean up the office. This went on for a few minutes, and the Hokage was given time to brood amidst the noise of rustling papers and drawers being opened and closed. In the quiet office, Sarutobi's sigh was like a thunderclap.

"He was one of the last," Sarutobi murmured, and he looked quite old. He took a sip of his tea, his eyes distant. "He was one of the few left who saw the land before the Great Villages. Oh, things were quite different back then."

Naruto said nothing as Sarutobi smiled bitterly.

"It was a lawless, unforgiving society," the old man continued. He placed his cup of tea back on the sauce, exhaling wearily. "It was a place where might made right, where those with the most power did as they pleased, where the small and insignificant were trodden underfoot by those above them."

Naruto thought about the Manufactorium. "Has much really changed?" he wondered frankly.

Sarutobi turned an eye on him. "Some could claim it hasn't," he admitted tiredly. "However, I like to believe that there is a certain order present that wasn't there before. Certainly, people are much safer. We've come far, Naruto."

A picture of Yuna's mangled body flittered through his mind, as did the contract that Konoha had purchased with her blood.

"Yes, sir," Naruto intoned quietly.

He continued to clean up the office, filing away paperwork and organising the Hokage's desk. As he did this, he was aware that Sarutobi was watching him. He didn't allow any bitter thoughts to show on his face, for even with his mask on, Sarutobi would still know- he always did.

"I have a mission for you," Sarutobi mentioned after a few moments.

Naruto straightened and closed the drawer in front of him. "Hokage-sama?"

"Two missions, actually," Sarutobi elaborated. "Firstly, I want you to go to the Department of Research and Development and prepare a summary of all of the items we _acquired_ off of the Land of Sky. I want a full progress report, specifically, how long will it take to equip our own shinobi with such technology."

Naruto bowed his head. "Right away, Hokage-sama," he murmured.

"You'll need to get that done today, however," Sarutobi continued, and there was a note of humour in his voice. He took another sip of his tea, drawing the moment out, and sighed. "For tomorrow, you've been assigned a C-rank mission. I understand that you were _personally_ requested."

Naruto cocked his head. "Sir?" he sounded puzzled.

"I think Konohamaru has spent all of his pocket money on this mission too," Sarutobi continued.

Naruto's twitched. "Wait, what? Konohamaru?"

"Konohamaru has requested that you train Team 7 in preparation of the Chunin Exams," Sarutobi explained quietly. He coughed once, as if hiding his laughter. "However, because he could not find the money to fund the mission cost himself, he approached some of the other genin teams. I understand that there will be nine genin awaiting your instruction."

Naruto was very still, and very quiet.

"I personally thought it was a marvellous idea," Sarutobi continued. "So did many of the Jonin Sensei. Tomorrow, you'll have all of the Rookie Genin to play around with." He scratched his chin. "It'll be fun. Give them a work out, ready their minds, and cement the bonds of teamwork. We need to give a good show this year."

"Yes, sir," Naruto's voice was absolutely neutral.

Playing around with some rookie genin was not his idea of a fun mission, although, he was interested to see how Sasuke had improved since that impromptu training session last week. Plus, it had been a while since he had smacked Konohamaru around, and the little shit was clearly asking for it- hell, he was paying him to do it. A unbidden smile crossed his face.

Huh. This could be fun after all.


	25. Genins

**A/N: Long time, guys. I've recently moved house, and I have no internet here at all. It's been pretty hectic, so I've been putting this off. I finally managed to get this done, and I've uploaded it via my phone. It didn't help that I found this very hard to write. Lemme know what you think.**

* * *

><p>The very next day, Naruto finished his chores at the Hokage's Residence as quickly as he could. He had left a couple of shadow clones to assist with the cleaning, and breakfast had been pre-made and put in the refrigerator. Undoubtedly there would be some issue- there always was when he left the house- but Naruto was hoping that Konohamaru and Sarutobi would be able to act like mature, responsible shinobi and eat breakfast like normal people.<p>

He wasn't going to bet any money on it, but the hope was still there.

As the sun began to rise into the sky, Naruto walked down the streets of Konoha towards Sector 17, where the Jonin Longue was located. All around him, the civilian population of the village began to rise. The smell of baking bread filled the street, and there was a bustle around Sector 16 as Konoha's market district began to stir. Stalls were set up and fresh vegetables were laid out on the tables. Some of the local craftsmen and blacksmiths began to work, and the sound of metal clanging on metal filled the air. Naruto enjoyed the hustle and bustle and, smiling politely, waved at many of those who were up.

Most waved back. There were some, however, who regarded him with distrust and antipathy. Them, Naruto did he best to ignore. Things had gotten much better since he was a child, and his position as the Hokage's personal assistant meant that he had become well known to most corners of the village. There were still some who didn't like him, who whispered dark things in the shadows where nobody could hear them, but they did it very quietly. Naruto was a shinobi- and a well-respected one at that, especially since events that had occurred during the Blitz. It was well-known that Naruto had been the one to lead the assault against the enemy's stronghold, and in doing so, had saved the village from imminent destruction.

There might be those who didn't like him for what he was, but they did respect him for what he had done.

Naruto strolled past Sector 16 and made his way into Sector 17. This was where most of the bars, venues and other assorted entertainment establishments were located- including a series of very specific, red-curtained storefronts that Naruto had been explicitly told to stay away from.

Sarutobi hadn't been impressed when an eight-year-old Naruto had gone snooping.

The young, bare-faced ANBU made his way into the Jonin Longue and nodded politely at the bartender. Rikku was a former Jonin, and an ace that had survived the Second and Third Great Wars, but at the cost of his shinobi career. He was a large, burly man with bulging muscles, a bald, scarred head and squinty, little eyes. He was also one of the nicest people that Naruto had ever met, and had a deceptively soft voice.

"Good morning, Naruto," Rikku greeted quietly. He smiled, stretching his scars across his face, and making him look rather intimidating. "How are you today?"

"I'm good, thanks," Naruto responded. He scratched the back of his head as he raked his eyes over the longue.

There were only a few people there- a trio of quietly talking women in jonin vests, and a lanky, dark-haired man sitting in the corner eating breakfast. There was something about him that seemed familiar, and abruptly Naruto recognised his face. He was ANBU- a squad captain from Epsilon Platoon. As if sensing eyes on him, the man looked up. He recognised Naruto as well, and tipped his mug of coffee at him.

"What'll you have this morning?" Rikku asked, and Naruto's eyes were drawn back to him.

"Breakfast for four, please," he answered.

Rikku nodded. He directed Naruto to table seven and left. Naruto took a seat and waited for his company to arrive. It didn't take too long, and the next person to walk into the Jonin Longue was one of the new Jonin Sensei. Yuhi Kurenai looked particularly striking, with her pale skin, dark, untamed hair, and crimson eyes. She smoothed down her blouse, one arm clothed, and the other bare. She was wearing makeup, red lipstick and purple eye-shadow, and a headband was tied around her forehead.

Naruto waved at her and she waved back, smiling. The young ANBU felt something twist in his heart at the sight of her smile, and he had to smooth his face over as the beautiful woman came over to sit across from him. There was something particularly radiant about her, a presence that made Naruto feel almost in awe of her.

"Good morning," she greeted kindly, and her voice was smooth and melodious, sending a shiver down his spine.

"Morning," Naruto returned the greeting rather uncomfortably.

Kurenai seemed to pick up on his nervousness, and she smiled at him- which only really made things worse. As the two sat there in silence, Naruto had to refrain from fidgeting in his seat. He had seen Kurenai in passing before, but she had never stirred this sort of reaction- oh.

_Oh._

Naruto compressed his chakra and, for a split second, he held onto it. Then, he released it all at once, and the pervasive chakra of one of Yuhi Kurenai's genjutsu was disrupted, and expelled from his tenketsu. Kurenai jerked once, and then smiled wryly as Naruto narrowed his eyes at her.

"I'm impressed. That was a very subtle technique. I didn't think you'd break it," she mentioned casually, as if she regularly went around placing people under genjutsu.

For all Naruto knew, perhaps she did.

"It was the wave, wasn't it?" Naruto asked quietly. "You used that as a distraction to cast your technique."

"That's right." She sounded impressed now.

"It was good," Naruto admitted.

And it had been. Kurenai was the youngest genjutsu master in Konoha, and one of the best in the world. Genjutsu was an odd branch of the shinobi arts, and perhaps the hardest to master. Naruto knew that Yuuka had several sensory-based genjutsu in her repertoire, but they were really only useful when you had a team to capitalise on that one moment of weakness, for most genjutsu was easy to detect and throw off. It was shinobi like Kurenai who utilised genjutsu to their fall effect- trapping enemies underneath an illusion so perfect that they didn't even know it was an illusion, with little more than a wave of their hands.

Uchiha Itachi was meant to be better. That was _not _an opponent Naruto would ever want to face on equal terms.

Naruto cast a wary eye on Kurenai. "It was a bit uncalled for, though. What was that for?"

Kurenai placed her hands in her lap primly. "I was just seeing if my genin were going to be taught by somebody who knows what they're doing," she said.

"I don't really need to know what I'm doing to smack around a few rookies," Naruto replied.

"You might be surprised," she warned.

Naruto smiled tightly. "I doubt it," was all he said, before he caught a flash of movement in the corner of his eye.

Another Jonin had entered the longue. Wearing a collared, dark-green flak jacket, Asuma Sarutobi carried the air of a lazy man- although not to the extremes as Hatake Kakashi did. His dark eyes slid over the longue as he rubbed his beard, a cigarette hanging lazily in the corner of his eyes. He looked much like his father, the Third Hokage, yet as his eyes slid over Kurenai and Naruto his face became flat. Naruto wasn't quite sure what the bad blood was between the two, but having experienced the stubbornness of both the old man, he was pretty sure that at some point the two had argued and never made up.

Asuma strode over and took a seat next to Kurenai, the furthest away from Naruto as he could get. He snuffed out his cigarette on the table, ignoring the slightly disapproving look he received from Kurenai. He didn't say anything to Naruto, and Naruto didn't really have anything to say to him.

For a few moments, there was an awkward silence. Kurenai had definitely noticed how uncomfortable Asuma and Naruto were around each other, but she had apparently chosen not to say anything at all. The silence was only broken when Rikku returned bearing a tray with four plates of food. The burly ex-Jonin laid the plates down around them.

"Who's the fourth?" he asked softly, the tone and volume of his voice at odds with his demeanour.

"Kakashi," Naruto answered, and his there was a note of sarcasm in his voice when he spoke next. "I'm sure he'll be along shortly."

"Maybe," Rikku deadpanned.

Naruto smiled wryly. "Maybe," he agreed.

The three Jonin began eating their breakfast, while the fourth plate was left there, untouched. As they ate, Naruto beckoned at Kurenai.

"Tell me about your genin, then," he asked.

Kurenai wiped her mouth with her napkin. "Well," she began delicately, "I will say that they're _interesting_. I have Inuzuka Kiba, who's highly exuberant on the good days. He's loud, he's blunt, and, to be honest, he's a little arrogant. Good kid though."

An Inuzuka. They were always interesting to work with.

"Then there's Aburame Shino. He's very quiet, but showing a lot of progress with his Clan Techniques. He doesn't communicate very well, and his social skills are poor. I also get the feeling that he doesn't really give it his all during training sessions."

Kurenai took a sip of her drink and put the glass down. She smiled a tad sadly as she continued.

"My last genin is Hyuuga Hinata. She's the Clan Heir. Hinata..." Kurenai trailed off, and her eyes darted around her. When she spoke up again, her voice was much softer, and Naruto had to lean in to hear her. "Frankly, Hinata just isn't cut out for the shinobi lifestyle. She has major self-confidence issues. Her skills aren't too bad, but she's got a lot of baggage, and, to be honest, she's far too kind."

"That doesn't sound like a lot of the Hyuuga I meet," Asuma said with a chuckle.

Naruto thought about Daichi and his easy-going nature and good humour. "You'd be surprised," he countered mildly, and ignored Asuma's frown.

Kurenai toyed with a lock of hair. "Frankly, if she can make it to Chunin, I think I'll be recommending her for an administrative post- maybe something to do with money. From what I've seen, she's got a good sense of number. It won't be a glamorous as a shinobi on active duty, but I think she would enjoy it more."

"Right," Naruto murmured. He rubbed the back of his head, and then forced himself to look at Asuma. "Could you tell me about your genin, please?" he asked politely.

Asuma was still frowning, and he didn't say anything for a few moments. Then, he shrugged. "Not much to tell, really," he answered casually. He toyed with his lighter in one hand, opening it and sparking it every few seconds. "I've got the new generation of the Ino-Shika-Cho combination. Ino is very bossy and a little self-centred. She doesn't get on well with others, but she's professional enough to put that aside during missions. Shikamaru is the laziest boy I've ever met, and probably the smartest. He won't do anything unless he's interested and engaged. Choji lacks confidence, and he's also a little too kind. He has a big heart, and he takes things quite personally."

"Okay," Naruto said slowly, nodding his head. "I was more asking-"

"Well, my cute little genin are just awesome!" came a voice to his left.

Naruto twitched, and his turned his head to see Kakashi sitting next to him. The silver haired man had a speared a sausage with a fork and looked to be raising it to his mask. He paused when the three other Jonin stared at him, and then his one visible eye crinkled.

"Hello," he greeted.

"You're late, Captain," Naruto said flatly.

"You sound like my genin," Kakashi replied.

"Yeah, well, your genin aren't capable of putting their foot up your arse," Naruto retorted darkly.

"Ooh, I'm scared. The big bad twelve-year-old boy is going to hurt me," Kakashi mocked.

Naruto threw a sausage at him, and rolled his eyes. Kakashi just chuckled.

Kurenai was watching their interaction with an arched eyebrow, her striking crimson eyes showing her amusement, whereas Asuma merely grunted a greeting to Kakashi and continued staring out of the window.

"I already know a little about Sasuke and Konohamaru," Naruto mentioned. "How's the girl?"

"Weak," Kakashi retorted around a mouthful of sausage that he had somehow snuck in when Naruto hadn't been looking. He swallowed. "She's weak, and she lacks determination. She's bright, though. I'll probably recommend her for Intelligence or Cryptanalysis if she makes the cut to Chunin."

"Alright," Naruto said, "It wasn't really what I was…"

"Whereas Konohamaru definitely has the determination that Sakura lacks," Kakashi continued, happily cutting Naruto off in mid-sentence. "But his problem is that he tries too hard. He's got a lot of self-esteem problems, which, I suppose if I grew up in a household with the Third Hokage and his prodigal apprentice, I would have too. He compensates too much, and he takes criticism very personally."

"Okay, I'm really asking…" Naruto began again.

"Sasuke is good, though," Kakashi continued happily. "He's very skilled and very determined. Out of the lot of them, he trains the hardest, and he's very driven- but perhaps too much so. He's got a lot of baggage, which is understandable, and he doesn't always work well with others."

Kakashi finished and let out an audible sigh. His plate was empty, and he had somehow finished his breakfast during the time he had been talking. He leaned back in his chair, while Naruto sat there in silence, waiting. Finally, Kakashi looked up, cocking his head curiously.

"You done?" Naruto asked.

Kakashi considered it. "Yep," he said brightly.

"Okay," Naruto said. He rubbed his hands together. "Let me get this straight. I need to bring out some confidence in Choji, Hinata, Konoaharmu and Sakura, while I inspire Shikamaru and Shino to put in more of an effort, after I finish working on Ino, Kiba and Sasuke's teamwork skills

Kurenai was nodding thoughtfully, while Asuma merely grunted. Kakashi, however, considered it and nodded.

"Sounds good," he said, and gave Naruto a thumbs up.

"How are you going to do all of that, Naruto?" Kurenai asked.

"Well, here's my plan," Naruto began, and leaned forward. "I was thinking about gathering them all up, and, after I introduce myself, I was going to beat the shit out of them."

There was a short silence. Kurenai looked distinctly unimpressed, and Asuma had snorted. Kakashi chuckled and thumped Naruto on the back.

"Haven't given this much thought, have you?" he asked.

"Have a better idea?" Naruto asked him.

"Nope!" Kakashi replied.

"So I'll beat the shit out of them." Naruto put his fork down, frowning. "Look, I'm not a psychologist. I'm not here to help them with their problems. They've requested a senior shinobi to come in and help them with their training. I've got a few teamwork exercises planned, then I was thinking of some light sparring and some last minute refinement of their techniques. These genin have paid me to train them, so I'll train them, and hopefully they won't all die in the exams."

Kurenai didn't look too happy, but Kakashi shrugged.

"Fair enough," he said. "When do you start?

Naruto glanced out the window at the position of the sun.

"Now," he answered. He reached into his vest. "But first, could I just get you all to sign this?"

* * *

><p>Naruto had booked Training Ground 31 for the training session with the Genin. Training Ground 31 was usually reserved for Squads of Chunin, but Naruto had managed to pull a few strings and put it under his name. He had chosen it because much of the grounds were covered in forest environments found in the Land of Fire, and he knew that Training Ground 44 had been booked for the Chunin Exams. While the grounds were no Forest of Death, it would allow the genin to run some teamwork exercises in a similar environment.<p>

He had sent instructions to the Genin to meet him there at 7:00 am, and, to their credit, they had all arrived on time. Hidden in the tree, Naruto perched on a branch and surveyed them critically. There were nine of them milling around the entrance to the grounds. Team 7 had been the first to arrive which, knowing Kakashi, wasn't necessarily a surprise. Sasuke had stood there with his arms folded and eyes closed, although he had an air of expectation and eagerness around him. Konohamaru had immediately started warming up. Having already experienced a few training sessions with Naruto, the young Sarutobi knew better than most that Naruto was going to be pushing them. The pink haired girl, Sakura, had spent most of the time trying to initiate a conversation with Sasuke, and then looking miserable when the boy refused to respond.

Team 8 had arrived next. The Inuzuka boy was definitely the most excitable one of the lot, and he had wasted no time in trying to rile Sasuke up. The Hyuuga had tried to play peacemaker, but Kiba had shrugged her off and she had withdrawn, looking hurt. This had made the Aburame frown, and there had almost been a three-way fight between Sasuke, Kiba and Shino, before Sakura had suddenly lost her temper and punted Kiba across the head.

Arriving almost fifteen minutes later was Team 10. The Yamanaka was one that Naruto distantly remembered meeting at one point, and she was literally dragging a sleepy-looking Nara behind her. A furious scowl was on her face as she berated her teammate mercilessly, while the larger boy, definitely an Akimichi, had tried to play peacemaker.

Naruto was not impressed with what he had seen so far. He sighed, and stood up in the tree. The branches creaked and the leaves ruffled around him. He was quite pleased when he noticed Kiba, Sasuke and Shikamaru instantly take note of noise. Kiba whirled around, staring suspiciously into the forest, while Sasuke straightened, and, for a split-second, the Nara lost his tired façade and his eyes became sharp and narrowed. Naruto felt his lips twitched and he made a hand-sign, disappearing in a Body Flicker.

He reappeared in front of the genin, and ignored the startled cries of those who had not been expecting him. He stood up, his arms folded as he surveyed the genin in front of him. They all quickly fell silent, and they stared at him expectantly.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto," he greeted them quietly. "I'm the shinobi you've hired to lead your training exercises today. I'll do my best to get you ready for the Chunin Exams."

The blond ANBU raked his eyes over the Genin. Konohamaru beamed at him, while Sasuke gave him a tiny nod of respect. The Hyuuga wouldn't meet his eyes, Sakura's face was flushed and she seemed flustered, while Ino was smiling flirtatiously at him. Kiba was apparently sizing him up none-too-discretely, and Choji waved politely. Both Shino and Shikamaru, however, were very carefully assessing him, Shino from behind his high collar and sunglasses and Shikamaru from his feigned tiredness.

"While I'm the same age as most of you, I am a Jonin," Naruto informed them. "Today, I'm your temporary instructor. Do what you're told, and we won't have a problem. Am I clear?"

There came a murmur of assents and several of them nodded. Naruto allowed a small smile to cross his face.

"Right," he said. "Let's get started. First off, what do you know about the Chunin Exams?"

Faster than a bolt of lightning, Haruno Sakura had her hand in the air. Naruto blinked, but then called on her.

"The International Chunin Exams were founded through the effort of the Fourth Hokage as a way for villages to demonstrate their strength and prowess in a controlled, peaceful manner," she recited, as if there was a book in front of her. "They're held every six months throughout the Great Five Villages, who periodically take turns in hosting them."

"Specifics," Naruto prodded as the girl paused to take a breath.

"Konoha has hosted the exams seven times- this will be our eight," Sakura continued. She blushed- she actually blushed. "I…er… did a little research, and I found that there are at least three stages."

Shikamaru cut in there. "For the last six Chunin Exams held in Konoha, all of the first stages have involved a mental component- intelligence gathering, strategy planning, and counterespionage." He sounded bored. "The second stages always involve a physical component- teamwork manoeuvres, battle simulations, survival exercises. The Third Stages has always been a tournament consisting of one-on-one battles in front of the public."

"Well done," Naruto praised. Sakura flushed, but beamed happily. He looked up at all of the genin. "If you want to be successful Chunin, remember this saying. 'Without heaven, seek wisdom. Without earth, run in the fields'."

He let it sink in.

"What does that mean?" Naruto asked.

Kiba scratched his head. "If we die, we get to run around a lot?"

"Idiot," Sasuke muttered under his breath.

"Oh, bite me," Kiba snapped.

"Heaven…would refer to the mind, wouldn't it?" Shikamaru murmured. He nodded resolutely. "If you don't have heaven… if you're not smart… then seek wisdom, work towards becoming smarter. That must mean that the earth is your body. If you're not strong, then work on becoming stronger."

"Correct," Naruto confirmed. He eyed all of the genin in front of him. "Chunin are not genin. When you become a Chunin, you're likely to be deployed out in the Land of Fire. Some of you might even lead your own team. If you want to be a good Chunin, hell, if you want to be a good _shinobi_, then you need to make sure you brains and your body are in good shape."

He raked his eyes over the group.

"An intelligent shinobi without strength is useless," he continued. "And a powerful shinobi without intelligence is equally as useless. Intelligence and power must go hand in hand. You need to look underneath the underneath, cut through the deception, strategize and use tactics. That requires your mind. But you also need the strength of body to implement those tactics, and to stand up against other shinobi."

He paused. The genin were silent, listening attentively.

"I'm going to start you on some team exercises," Naruto continued. He pointed past them, deeper into the forest. "Somewhere in that forest, there is a flag." Naruto stared each genin the eye and leaned forward. "I want that flag. Those who can't get me that flag will be pulled out of the Chunin Exams."

The reactions were explosive.

"What?!" Kiba shouted indignantly. "You can't do that!"

Hinata pressed her fingers together, shrinking in on herself, while Choji looked ashen faced and nervous. Sakura was taking deep breaths, while Sasuke and Konohamaru were tensing. Only Shikamaru looked at ease, an ease that Naruto didn't particularly like.

"You don't believe me," Naruto said, and Shikamaru watched with narrowed eyes as the young Jonin reached into his vest. He pulled out a folded piece of paper and wordlessly handed it to the Nara. Shikamaru took it, opened it up and scanned through it almost instantly.

The other genin had fallen silent.

"What is it?" Sasuke finally asked.

"It's a release form," Shikamaru murmured. Naruto saw his fingers clench on the paper. "It's an unlabelled release form signed by all of our Jonin Instructors. It lists all of our names, and states that 'due to incompetence, the following genin have been pulled from the Chunin Exams'."

"I'll cross out the names that bring me my flag," Naruto offered and smiled. It wasn't a nice smile. "You hired me to make sure you were ready for the Chunin Exams. If I don't think you're ready, then I'm not going to let you go in and embarrass the Village in front of everybody else."

Naruto took the release form back from Shikamaru.

"Those who are the first to bring me back the flag will stay. The rest will be culled. Once you hear the whistle, the exercise is over." Naruto made a shooing motion with his hand. "Go."

The genin instantly split into their teams and dove into the forest. Naruto watched them, smiling wryly, and then made a hand sign. He disappeared with a swirl of leaves and wind.

He reappeared inside the forest and made a hand-sign.

_Shadow Clone Technique!_

There was a series of pops and puffs of smoke appeared around him. When it disappeared, nine shadow clones stood around him. Naruto reached into his vest and pulled out a storage scroll. He bit his thumb, swiped it on the scroll and unsealed its contents. Nine headbands appeared- a set of three from Kumo, a set of three from Iwa and a set of three from Suna. The clones all took one.

"Don't be _too_ mean," Naruto instructed.

The shadow clones nodded and disappeared. Each team of clones were to intercept one of the genin teams and put up a token resistance- not enough to truly stop the genin, but enough that they would be forced to demonstrate their skills and tactics. Naruto was about to go and settle in the tree above the flag he had planted when he paused. Something didn't feel… oh. With an impressed smile, Naruto reached behind and plucked a small, black bug off of his back.

"How sneaky," Naruto muttered approvingly.

Uchiha Sasuke kept his eyes focussed on his surroundings as he led Team 7 deeper into the forest. Adrenaline and chakra surged through his body, and his fists were clenched. Uzumaki Naruto hadn't been the somewhat-friendly and helpful shinobi that he had met before, and despite Konohamaru's warnings that Naruto was a bastard, Sasuke definitely hadn't seen the ploy with the release form coming.

Sasuke couldn't afford to be kicked out of the Exams. He had the skills for Chunin, Naruto himself had even said so, and the Uchiha needed his Chunin Clearance to continue developing his skills. He had keep pushing himself, further and further, until he could finally catch up with Itachi's long-cast shadow.

There was no other alternative. Sasuke paused on the next branch and waited for Konohamaru and Sakura to catch up. They did so, Sakura puffing and Konohamaru looking determined. For an eight-year old, his face was kind of scary, and an idle part of Sasuke's mind tried to place that same scowl on the Hokage's face. It would be scary, Sasuke mused, before his shook his head and focussed on the present.

"If we see Team 8 or Team 10, we need to take them out," Sasuke muttered to the other two. Sakura gasped, but Konohamaru nodded fiercely. "Sakura, if it's Team 8, use your smoke pellets and distract Shino and Hinata, while Konohamaru and I will take down Kiba. Without him, they don't have a strong offence. If it's Team 10, Konohamaru, taunt Ino and make her lose her temper. Sakura, hang back and use your flashbangs if any of us get caught in Shikamaru's trap. I'll take care of Choji first, then move onto Shikamaru."

"Interesting."

The voice was dead-ahead, and all three genin jerked. Sasuke's eyes bled into the sharingan as he recovered from his surprise. He hadn't seen or heard the person coming. He looked up and saw Uzumaki Naruto staring down at him impassively. An Iwa headband glinted on his forehead as he snapped his fingers, and two more people appeared- each Uzumaki Naruto.

"We are Team Alpha, representing an Iwa Genin Team," the obvious clone said in a deadpan voice. He pointed at Sasuke. "Our instructions are clear. You are not to gain possession of the flag. If you advance, we will attack."

Sasuke gripped a kunai, and a dangerous grin crossed his face. He looked at Sakura, who held a kunai, and Konohamaru, who gripped a wooden stave. They met his eyes, and each of them nodded determinedly. With a blur of movement, Sasuke lunged forward, his kunai coming up…

… and deflecting the blow in a shower of sparks. The clone of Uzumaki Naruto was far too strong, and Shino was forced to retreat, deflecting and parrying a series of blows that made his arm rattle. He assessed the situation, warding off the clone with a spray of insects from the ends of his sleeves.

Kiba and Akamaru let out howls of enjoyment as they lunged at the clone, whirling in a movement of powerful, if predictable, blows. The strikes were easily deflected by the skilled clone, however, it was forced to move back as Shino advanced, his insects around him buzzing noisily. With their backs pressed against each other, Hinata, Shino and Kiba continued to fight, even as a low-grade explosive tag went off nearby…

…spraying the air with soil. Choji lifted up his hefty arm, and swung again. The clone side-stepped and the blow swung wide, striking the trunk of a tree and cracking the bark. With his side extended, Choji watched the clone raise a fist and winced with fear- then felt his legs move from out of his control a tendril of shadow took control of his body. He felt himself sidestep and suddenly the clone was the one who had over-extended.

Control returned to him and Choji struck out with his fist. The clone didn't react in time and it dispersed with a satisfying pop and puff of smoke. Choji was grinning, but his smile faded when he heard Ino cry out in pain. He spun around, and watched with heat brewing in his belly as the clone slapped Ino across the face again, sending her to her feet. Her kunai lashed out, and she continued to fight even as the clone straddled her and raised a fist to strike her.

Choji felt himself snarl and he surged forward.

Naruto waited at the centre of the forest, hidden in one of the trees right above a small clearing. A metal pole had been pushed into the ground, and a white cloth bearing the spiral of Konoha flapped at the end of it. As he waited, he reviewed the memories that his rapidly dispersing shadow clones were transmitting.

All in all, each team worked quite well together. Team 8 had been surprising, he had expected poor teamwork given what Kurenai had told him, but they had risen up and demonstrated their familiarity with each other and basic squad-level tactics. They supplemented each other quite well- even Hinata, when push came to shove, had stepped up. Team 10 had worked fluidly with each other, although after an explosive tag had gotten off they had lost formation and hadn't known where to rendezvous. Still, it was to be expected given the tried-and-tested combination of their individual abilities.

Team 7 had demonstrated the spirit of teamwork, but they hadn't meshed well together, if Naruto had to be honest. Konohamaru had lost focus of everything around him as he fought his particular enemy. Sasuke had done the same, but had retreated when it became apparent that Sakura wasn't going to be able to handle her opponent. She truly was the weak link of the team, and her combat and support skills were poor.

The fights were all over now, and all three teams were converging on the flag. Naruto smiled faintly and masked his presence with a cloaking technique, one that the Hyuuga shouldn't be able to pierce just yet.

What would they do now?

Sasuke let the slightly battered and, in Konohamaru's case, bloodied team through the forest. The fight with the clones had been exhilarating, but ultimately unfulfilling. Sasuke had sparred with Naruto before, and he could tell that the clones had been holding back their punches. He felt a pang of disappointment. He'd been training a lot, and he'd been hoping to show the ANBU his improvement since last week. Still, the day was still young.

Movement flickered in his vision.

"Hold!" Sasuke hissed. He perched on the branch and held up his fist.

Konohamaru and Sakura both crouched next to him as Sasuke peered into the forest ahead. There was something moving up ahead, something white amidst all of the greens and browns around them. His sharingan spun as he smiled tightly.

It was a flag.

Sasuke motioned and Team 7 advanced.

They passed the last of the tree trunks and came into a little clearing. In the middle of the clearing was the flag, flapping at the end of a metal pole dug into the ground. Team 7 was also not alone, and Sasuke felt his face harden as he saw Choji begin to take the flag down.

"Stop," he ordered.

Shikamaru looked up sharply, and Ino practically sneered once she saw Sakura.

"We were here first," Shikamaru said firmly. "We got to the flag first."

"The instructions were to bring the flag back to Naruto," Sasuke said. His sharingan spun, looking for traps and finding none. "It doesn't matter that you got here first." He directed his gaze at Choji. "Give us the flag."

Choji wilted underneath the stare, his hands still on the flag, while Ino stepped in front of him.

"Sorry, Sasuke-kun," she said apologetically. Her face hardened. "But I'm not going to miss my chance to become Chunin, even for you."

"As if you have a chance, little miss piggy," Sakura scoffed with far more bravado than Sasuke privately thought she had.

"Whatever you say, loser," Ino sneered. She pulled her pale blonde hair ponytail over her shoulder and edged her hand to her weapons pouch. "We're not letting you have the flag."

"Walk away, Sasuke," Shikamaru warned. His eyes were narrowed, his full attention on the Uchiha.

Sasuke smiled tightly. "Make me," he challenged.

Then, there was a blur of movement and suddenly a spinning hurricane of claws, fur and hair appeared. Choji was pushed back as Kiba and Akamaru appeared, grinning fiercely. A cloud of insects buzzed forward, surroundings the flag, even as Teams 7 and 10 reacted.

Sasuke inhaled, and moulded his chakra.

_Fire Release: Phoenix Flower!_

He spewed a series of small streaks of fire at the insects, forcing them back away from the flag. The insects dispersed, and Team 7 lunged forward. Sasuke met with Kiba and their kunai clashed against each, sparks flickering from the grinding of the metal. All around them, Leaf-nin fought against Leaf-nin. Sakura and Ino fought against each other, and Sakura was forcing the Yamanaka back, her greater physical strength breaking through Ino's fragile defence. Shikamaru had trapped Shino- but then the boy dissolved in a cloud of bugs, while Hinata had darted for the flag and had been pushed back by Choji.

They were all so involved with all of the fights, that none of them had noticed the flag. Sasuke's fire technique had clipped the end of the white fabric and, slowly, the flag began to catch light. It burned amongst them all, the leaf symbol disappearing underneath the flame as the fabric blackened and became smoke.

"Enough."

The word was said quietly, but there was a force behind it, and suddenly all of the genin froze. There was a terrible pressure pushing all around them, squeezing them down, and Sasuke shuddered as a menacing intent brushed against his mind. While not as severe as it had been with Zabuza, it was just as debilitating. The thick, dense chakra forced the air around them to take on a hazy quality, almost like it was shuddering, and a very low-pitched drone filled his ears. Uzumaki Naruto appeared before them, and then the pressure was over.

Sasuke gasped, and almost collapsed. Several of the other genin actually did.

"That's enough," Naruto appeared resigned. "I've seen enough."

The genin were silent after Naruto had made his appearance- and as well they should be. The unique chakra-folding techniques of the Third Hokage and his apprentice had a distinct effect on the environment around them, and those effects could be made to be quite intimidating. The splash of killing intent had probably helped, too.

Naruto took everything nice he had thought about the genin back, and he was silent as he watched the flag of Konoha burn. It didn't take very long as the chakra fuelling the flames began to die away. After thirty seconds or so, the flames were gone, leaving behind a tattered, scorched piece of blackened cloth.

"I've made my decision," Naruto said quietly, breaking the deathly silence. "I'm going to submit the release form to the Hokage right now, and I'm leaving all of your names on it. None of you deserve to be chunin."

"What?" Kiba snapped. He appeared indignant. "You can't do that? We beat up your clones! My team is definitely ready to…"

Naruto didn't say anything, but he shot a piercing look at the young Inuzuka. Using his chakra, he imposed his will upon the boy- not a desire to kill, but a desire for the genin to 'BE QUIET!' and the intent. The boy froze, sweating beading on his forehead, and swallowed nervously. He fell silent and backed down.

Naruto reached out and slowly caressed the burnt flag. "If I let you become chunin, this is what you'll do to the village," he told them quietly. "You're all selfish, short-sighted and, frankly, stupid."

"We were just doing what you told us to," Konohamaru mumbled.

"You missed the entire point of this exercise," Naruto retorted. He stared at each genin in turn, and none of them could meet his eyes for long. "I told you to get me the flag."

"We were trying to!" Ino snapped. The pretty Yamanaka was beginning to regain her courage, a scowl marring her pretty face. "Each team tried to get the flag. You said if we didn't, we wouldn't be let into the exams!"

"You fought over it," Naruto commented. "Leaf-nin fought against Leaf-nin, and, in the end, the flag was destroyed."

Abruptly, Shikamaru let out a groan and dropped his head. Naruto smiled tightly as the Nara muttered a curse under his breath.

"In your instructions, you never said anything about 'teams'," Shikamaru elaborated tiredly. The Nara was shaking his head wearily. "We could have all gone together and you still would have passed us."

"Yes," Naruto answered.

Sasuke felt the realisation struck him and pinched the bridge of his nose. Unbidden, the words rose to his mouth. "Those who abandon the rules are scum, but those who abandon their teammates…"

"…are worse than scum," Naruto finished. He rubbed his hands together and sighed. Then, the dangerous chakra and intent returned, and Naruto leaned forward menacingly. "You stupid, little shits. You've missed the point entirely."

Sasuke was frozen.

"The Chunin Exams have nothing to do with _you_," Naruto said darkly. "To presume so just shows me that you're selfish, egotistical and pathetic."

The pressure was abruptly released as Naruto sighed, and gazed up at the sky.

"The Chunin Exams are about the Village," he continued. "And these Chunin Exams will be even more important than any other before." He looked down. "We've just come out of a war. Do you understand that? People have _died_. We've lost hundreds of shinobi. It's going to take us years to recoup those losses. The other Kage will come to this village, and they'll be looking for weakness. The Feudal Lords will come, and they'll be looking for strength. We need to show the world that that, despite everything, Konoha is worthy of being one of the Great Five Villages."

Naruto held each genin's eye.

"Strength. Unity. Power. That's what they'll be looking for. It's not about your teams. It's not about your promotion. It's about the village, and, I'll tell you right now, if you can't recognise that then don't even bother showing up. You won't be promoted, even if you pass with full marks on every stage. Konoha doesn't want chunin who sacrifice their comrades for their own needs."

He stared at each genin in the eye, making sure that they had received the message.

"Now, we're going to try this again. This time, there are going to be more clones. You're going to start in your three-man teams. What you do after that is your business. You only have one goal- get out of the forest with all teammates intact. Questions?"

Nobody raised their hand.

Naruto smiled grimly. "Go!"


	26. The Serpent Hidden in Leaves

**A/N: Hey guys, long time no see. I've been really slack on this one, so I apologise. I've just moved into a new house, so between that, work starting up again and a lack of motivation for writing this chapter, it took me a while. I feel back on track now, hopefully, so I'll leave this here and start working on the next one. Cheers.  
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* * *

><p>The Chunin Exams, while displaying the skills and merits of the aspiring genin, had absolutely nothing to do with promotion. The shinobi workforce was far too large to display every genin who wanted the rank of Chunin at the Exams. Most Chunin were promoted internally, especially those who worked in areas that didn't require a lot of field-work. There was no point to show off a Chunin slated for accounting work at the Treasury. Plus, those shinobi tended to be rather lacklustre anyway. They met the minimum physical requirements for the job, and there was mandatory training sessions every month to keep their skills honed, but they were never going to be a terrifying presence on the battlefield.<p>

No. The Chunin Exams wasn't about the promotions. It was a huge public relations spectacle put on by the Great Villages to encourage clients to come to them, discourage clients to go to rival villages, and prove the strength and fortitude of the upcoming generation of shinobi.

Naruto wasn't sure that the rookie genin he spent all of yesterday training were up to it. Still, by the end of the day they had marginally improved, especially in their communication with each other and their teamwork. There were a few rough gems in them as well- Uchiha Sasuke had quite a bit of talent, Konohamaru had his grandfather's stubbornness, Nara Shikamaru was very shrewd and had a keen mind, and Abarume Shino had exceptional abilities in stealth. Some of the substitutions and 'bug-clone' techniques that the quiet boy used had been exceptional, and Naruto had even had some trouble seeing through them.

Perhaps they would pull through. Perhaps not. Time would tell.

At that moment, Uzumaki Naruto sat in a small amphitheatre with Omega Squadron. The twenty-five man ANBU Combat Platoon was waiting for its current Captain, Bird, to lead the briefing. Per the Hokage's request, Naruto had been assigned to the platoon for the upcoming mission. He sat there patiently, aware of the discrete glances that were being thrown his way.

The ANBU were close, and nobody liked an intruder barging their way in. Still, Naruto was a familiar presence to all ANBU, and as such there wasn't much hostility behind the looks.

There was a flicker of shadow underneath he door, somebody standing in the path of the light, and a woman with a badger mask stood.

"Rise," she intoned quietly.

All chatter ceased and chairs scraped on the ground as, as one, Omega Platoon rose from their seats and stood at attention. The door opened and Bird walked in, donned in his white ANBU cloak. He nodded once and Badger made a motion with her hand. Naruto, along with the rest of the ANBU, took their seats, while Badger began passing out mission packs.

"Good morning," Bird said quietly. His mask swept across the room, and somehow Naruto knew that the man had lingered on him longer than he had anybody else. "For the duration of this mission, Ferret has been attached to our platoon. For those who don't remember, he's the sucker who shouted us all dinner after getting his arse handed to him by Hokage-sama."

There were snickers at that, and Naruto grimaced. Right, Omega Platoon had been his opponents on a series of war games run between the different ANBU Combat Platoons. If he recalled correctly, Naruto had been supported by Epsilon Platoon- and had handily gotten his arse kicked by the Third Hokage.

"We've picked up a fun mission, guys," Bird continued. He picked up a mission packet. "Refer to appendix 1A. We'll be running Search and Retrieval on Training Ground 44, which has been allocated for today's Chunin Exams. After 24 hours, Delta Platoon will be replacing us. We'll be using grid-sector 4A for our base of operations."

"Our mission is simple. We'll run patrols through the forest, discretely monitoring the genin teams within it. There is to be _no interaction_ with them at all. Doing so will cost you your mask. You stay back and you watch. That's it. Should any of the genin die, you are to retrieve their bodies and bring them back to HQ. Somebody from Recon will take them from there back to the Jonin Captains. Make sure they sign off on it before they take the body- I want a clear chain of custody. Nobody wants to be accused of breaking the non-interference policy."

Bird paused, and his mask gleamed as it made a slow, deliberate sweep across the room. "I don't care if it's your mother getting killed down there," he said quietly. "Your orders are to stay put and wait until the fight is over before you make a move. The impartiality of the Chunin Exams must remain intact. Do you understand?"

It was ironic, as Naruto murmured an affirmative along with the rest of the platoon, since he was one of the few shinobi who knew that the Chunin Exams were anything but impartial. Each of the Great Villages had guaranteed spots for them in the Third Stage- provided that they survived the Second Stage, of course. That was the catch.

"Bravo Platoon will be holding the perimeter. However, on the chance that there's any unauthorised access by any party, you have orders to intercept and detain. If they refuse to cooperate, strike to kill. Teams 2 and 5, you're up first. Ferret."

Naruto straightened.

"You're with Team 3. Rooster-7 is your Squad Captain."

The young ANBU nodded.

"Dismissed."

* * *

><p>Four hours had already passed since the start of the Second Stage of the Chunin Exams when Naruto's shift began. Donned in his mask and a black cloak, he took the rear-guard as Team 3 of Omega Platoon began its patrol through the Forest of Death. It was a dangerous location, filled with deadly plants and animals, and as such an excellent place to throw genin into. As his team bounded from tree to tree, far above the forest floor and away from the eyes of the genin, Naruto briefly wondered how the rookies were doing.<p>

As one of the facilitators of the Chunin Exams, Naruto had been privy to the exact details of each of the stages. Hopefully, the Konoha genin had been smart enough to see through Ibiki's little ploy. There were so many holes in his story that it would take an idiot to fall for it, but Ibiki wasn't head of Torture and Interrogation without having some skill, and his repertoire of genjutsu would be subtle enough to be undetectable by most genin, and potent enough to induce some degree of paranoia and fear. Who knows- maybe some of them would fall for it?

_: Contact :_

The ANBU team paused on the trees and withdrew into the shadows. Naruto watched as below them, a fight between two genin teams was taking place. It was a team from Amegakure, who had been unfortunate enough to come across the team from Suna. After watching only seconds of the battle, Naruto had already determined the outcome. The genin from the Land of Rain were completely and utterly outclassed in every aspect.

The leader of the genin team seemed to be the small, red-haired boy with dark circles underneath his eyes. He stood there uncaringly, his arms folded as his sand whipped up around him, blocking a hail of senbon. The two other members stood back, the tall blonde girl and the black-hooded boy with the face-paint looking grim and resigned. They too also knew the outcome of the fight.

Naruto wondered if the Rain-Nin would have stayed to fight if they had known they were fighting against a _Jinchuuriki_.

Gaara of the Sand had some skill, and the ANBU team watched silently as his sand came out to surround them in a caccoon, squeezing them tightly. Some words were exchanged, too quiet for Naruto to hear, and one of the Sand genin took a step forward. Then, the sand compressed and the Rain-Nin disappeared from sight. There was a horrible crunching noise and a spray of blood- then, the sand dropped away and retreated back into Gaara's gourd and the Sand Siblings left.

A few moments later, Team 3 of Omega Platoon dropped down onto the forest floor. Eying the mangled remains of the genin, Naruto watched as Rooster pulled out a Sealing Scroll and carefully gathered the remains of the foreign genin. The young ANBU stared at the path that the Sand genin had taken, and could only hope that none of the teams from Konoha encountered them.

None of them would be able to stand up to a Jinchuuriki, not at the level they were at.

* * *

><p>Sometime later, after depositing their scroll with the Recon Team and having a two hour break, Team 3 was on their second patrol of the forest. They flittered from tree to tree, occasionally stopping to trail after a Team of Genin. There was one fight between a Team from Iwa and a Team from Kumo, but after receiving injuries on both sides, each team decided to retreat with no casualties.<p>

Halfway through their patrol, however, they came across the first genin team they had seen from Konoha, and Naruto watched almost fondly as Uchiha Sasuke, Sarutobi Konohamaru and Haruno Sakura darted through the trees. They all seemed to be fine, although Konohamaru was sporting a small bruise on his face, and Naruto let out a quiet sigh of relief. A weight lifted off his shoulders, one he didn't even know he had been carrying. Then, it came back again as Rooster lifted up his hand, making a sign.

_: Contact : Ahead 2 clicks : Ambush Position :_

Naruto clenched his fists but otherwise remained still. His orders had been very clear- there was to be no interference. The Third Hokage wouldn't be able to help him if he interfered in anyway, even if it was his own grandson that Naruto had saved. He bought his hands up and went through a few signs of his own.

_: Request to observe contact / ambush site :_

Rooster turned to look at him, and Naruto stared right back. It was hard to tell what was going on behind the other man's mask, but what the Squad Captain saw in Naruto was enough to satisfy him, and he nodded. Naruto felt a swell of gratefulness, and followed after Team 3 as they shadowed Sasuke, Sakura and Konohamaru. None of them seemed to register the upcoming contact at first, but the closer they got the more obvious the presence became. Naruto frowned behind his mask at that. The way the contact was revealing themselves was almost deliberate, as if they were testing the reactions of the genin.

Eventually, Sasuke paused and the genin stared out into the darkness. They stood on the edge of a thick branch, watching cautiously, and an ominous chuckle filled the air. From the shadows came a tall, lanky genin wearing a veil. A gleaming headband adorned his forehead, and on that was the sign of Kusagakure. His eyes were brown, but there was a certain level of malice in there, and for a split second, Naruto shivered. There was something about that genin…

He didn't know what, but he didn't like it. He suddenly got the impression that Sasuke, Konohamaru and Sakura were completely out of their depth with this one.

"Hello," the Kusa-Nin greeted. He smiled widely, his lips stretching far past where they should have stopped, and a long tongue snaked out of his mouth. The Kusa-Nin licked his lips with obvious relish. "I have something that you want."

Sasuke seemed to have taken charge, and he took a step forward. There was no obvious fear on his face, and his voice was level and calm. "Your scroll," he said, "Give it to us."

"Oh?" The Kusa-Nin chuckled, a grating sound that filled the air and echoed all around them. He reached behind his back and pulled out a scroll. "Is this what you're looking for?"

Sasuke clenched his fists, and his Sharingan blazed. Naruto silently applauded the boy's actions- he could obviously tell something was wrong, and had already begun searching for traps. Behind him, Konohamaru huffed and Sakura carefully reached for a kunai.

"Well, if you want it, then you'll have to get it," the Kusa-Nin chuckled. "But first…"

In a quick, deft movement, the Kusa-Nin shoved the scroll in his mouth and craned his head back. To the genin's obvious shock, he swallowed the whole object with apparent ease, and smacked his lips once he was done. For the first time, Sasuke looked a little uneasy.

Then it happened.

The air was suddenly rippling with a terrible pressure. It bore down on the genin- and the observing ANBU team- and a terrifying intent struck them all at once. The genin were frozen, their mouths open, while the ANBU quickly shrugged off the effects. Naruto clenched his fists. There was something about that pressure, the way that Kusa-Nin had projected his intent…

A cacophony of noise of sound struck his mind, and Naruto flinched. It was a message, transmitted by ANBU's Communications Squad, aka 'PSI', to all ANBU-level shinobi in the vicinity of the technique.

_Attention. The Chunin Exams have been infiltrated by unknown forces. All ANBU are to detain and hold any shinobi posing as Kusa-Nin until further notice. Message Repeats- the Chunin Exams have been infiltrated by unknown forces. All ANBU are to detain and hold any shinobi posing as Kusa-Nin until further notice_

Team 3 had paused for a split-second as they received the message, and Rooster had bought his hand up to signal a flanking manoeuvre when the Kusa-Nin sighed, raking his hand through his hair.

"Oh, now," he chuckled as he tore off the veil on his face, revealing pale skin. "I'm rather busy, so I'll make this short."

As Rooster bought his hand down, the ANBU blurred forward. The shinobi next to Naruto, one with a dog-faced mask on, held a gleaming spool of wire, while Naruto palmed a kunai. Adrenaline surged in his veins as they darted from behind the Kusa-Nin's blind spot, ready to incapacitate him- when the Kusa-Nin abruptly turned and a streak of something white lashed out from his mouth.

It was a lethal strike. In less than a second, a gleaming blade seemingly wreathed in white fire had emerged from the Kusa-Nin's throat and impaled Dog in the face. Mask cracking and muscles loosening, Dog was dead in an instant, and the blade retracted just as quick as it had come as the force of the blow halted Dog's advance and sent him flying backwards. At the same time, the man's hands blurred and he threw out a streak of ethereal blue light from his hands.

It was beautiful.

It was the most beautiful thing that Naruto had ever seen.

The light beckoned him, called him closer, and Naruto slowed, pausing to stare at it. The voices of a thousand angels sang in his ears and the nectar of the heavens fell upon his tongue, dazzling him with its brilliance. His eyes were drawn to the divine light as a starving man was drawn to food. In a daze, Naruto watched as Rooster halted his own advance and let the beautiful light approach him. The man's arms swung opened and he moved to embrace him- but the streak of ethereal light went through him, taking most of his torso with it.

_Re… Re… Release!_

Naruto sent a surge of potent chakra through his veins and break the genjutsu's hold on him. He staggered, and then rushed forward. A tap on the back was all it took to release the last of the ANBU, the rest having freed themselves, and as Naruto hurled a series of explosive tags forward, they used the smoke and fire to fall back into the trees. In less than five seconds, squad cohesiveness had been lost, and they were in disarray.

_: Signal! :_ Naruto signed.

Deer formed a quick series of signs and lifted his hand. A glowing orb of crackling yellow light erupted up into the sky- but then a streak of fire intercepted it and it exploded before it could move past the foliage, enveloping the entire area below it with light. The Kusa-Nin strode from the area of the explosive tags looking dirty but otherwise unconcerned. The smile on his face was mocking, and his yellow eyes were cruel.

_: Frog – Trap – Ferret – Long-range ninjutsu support - Tiger – Close Combat – I will assist – Advance! :_ Deer signed, taking command.

Naruto and Frog darted back as Tiger and Deer advanced. As they did so, Tiger made a series of signs and clasped his arm and a cloud of smoke enveloped it. When it dissipated, Tiger was holding a sword- a short, squat thing with was as wide across as Naruto was. Tiger swung it like a hammer, while Deer came from the side with a devastating kick. With apparent ease, the Kusa-Nin opened his mouth and blocked the momentum of the giant sword with the thin blade that emerged from his mouth, while at the same time parrying Deer's kick. He whirled around, his blade scraping alongside Tiger's and producing a shower of sparks, while launching his own kick at Deer. Deer blocked with both arms, but he grunted as he was pushed back by the power of it.

As Tiger jumped back, Naruto made a series of hand seals and tossed a kunai up into the air.

_Kunai Shadow Clone Technique!_

One kunai became a hundreds and they rocketed to the ground with deadly force. The Kusa-Nin's hands blurred and suddenly a huge gust filled the area, whipping through the kunai and dispelling most of them by the sheer force behind the howling wind technique, whilst halting Deer and Tiger's advance. Then, the Kusa-Nin made a series of hand-seals and slammed his hand on the ground- just as tendrils of shadows launched at him from all sides.

As Frog attempted to bind the imposter with his shadow technique, the branch beneath him rumbled. With his hands on the ground, the ANBU was completely vulnerable as a giant serpent smashed through the branch from underneath him and lunged at him. It caught him on one of its giant fangs and flicked its scaly head, hurling him into a tree.

"Snake…?" Naruto whispered, and suddenly dread filled him. "Oh, shit!"

His hands blurred, however, and as Tiger and Deer engaged the Kusa-Nin once more, Naruto folded his chakra back on itself and took a deep breath. An ominous pressure squeezed the air from around him and he channelled his potent chakra as two shadow clones appeared on either side of him. One of the jumped up into the air, and together, they formed a devastating combination technique.

_Lightning Release: Four Pillar Bind!_

_Wind Release: Great Wind Breakthrough!_

_Fire Release: Dragonfire!_

The ground rumbled as beneath them, four mighty pillars of rock shot up towards the tree line. Lightning crackled around them as they surrounded the giant serpent and trapped it in a glowing field of light. Arcs of lightning slammed into the serpent, and it hissed loudly, scraping against one of the pillars as it writhed. Immobilised as it was, it could not stop the clone in the air from spreading his hands forward and hurling a terrible gust of wind at it. The wind shrieked and the snake was wrenched from its spot around the tree and sent hurtling towards the ground. It smashed along the four pillars that had risen to surround it, denting and cracking them even as the wind technique swept away the arcs of lightning that had paralysed the great snake.

That didn't matter, though, for the third technique erupted from the ground with a terrible fury. Soil and dirt trembled and cracked as a pillar of fire exploded from the depths of the earth. At first, it formed a visage of a terrible dragon's face- but then the furious gusts of the wind technique reached it and it grew to enormous height. Heat buffered against him and beneath his armour he sweated, but Naruto held the fire technique as it enveloped everything within the four pillars. The snake disappeared underneath the brilliant fire, destroyed or dispelled.

Naruto released the hand-seals and turned back to the Kusa-Nin- only to see that Tiger and Deer were down, presumably dead. The genin were also gone, and Naruto felt a sense of relief at that. At least they wouldn't be caught in the upcoming battle- although it would be hard to call it that. After all, his opponent was one of the most dangerous men in the world.

"I recognise the feel of that ominous chakra," the Kusa-Nin said. He eyed Naruto curiously. "So you're the Right Hand of God. Sarutobi's little pet."

"And you're the traitor Orochimaru," Naruto responded quietly. "Why have you come here?"

Orochimaru chuckled, seemingly uncaring that he had been found out. "Perhaps I was feeling nostalgic and wanted to return to my old home. Perhaps I wanted to see the upcoming new generation. Perhaps, well," he paused and spread out his hands dramatically. "Perhaps I'm here to destroy this village."

"I won't let you," Naruto said quietly.

The Sannin cocked his head. "Is that so?" He sounded amused. "Then come and stop me."

An instant later, the legendary shinobi was buffeted by a series of devastating explosions that arose from all around him. As smoke and fire began to envelope the area, there was a streak of movement and Orochimaru launched himself forward. A dozen shadow clones leapt to meet him, a poor substitute for a proper frontal guard, but one that would have to make do. Kunai flashed but Orochimaru weaved through all of them with unnatural flexibility, landing on a branch and throwing out his arms. A dozen snakes lashed out from underneath his sleeves, striking at the unprepared shadow clones and dispelling them in an instant.

The wood beneath him cracked and Orochimaru's eyes widened. He glanced down, keeping his balance as several Grade-5 explosive tags detonated on the base of the tree trunk. Then, as the massive tree began to topple, pillars of earth began to arise around him- first four, then eight, then sixteen. Orochimaru bought his hands together, but was struck by crackling blue lightning. He jerked, as he was wreathed in fire, and could not stop the terrible fire technique that lanced through his position and tore into two.

The two parts of Orochimaru collapsed to the ground, being struck by lightning over and over again- and then they became mud and fell away. There was movement in the centre of the clearing, and just as the great tree toppled over with a devastating crash that sent tremors through the ground for kilometres, Orochimaru appeared, his hands weaving. With a grin that seemed permanently attached to his face, he bought his hands down on the ground. The ground groaned and protested, and the deafening tolling of bells filled the air. From the earth arose three enormous gates, as large as the ones on Konoha's Outer Wall. Each door of the gate was shit tightly, bearing the visage of a snarling or sneering demon, and they rose around Orochimaru in a triangular formation.

The pillars of lightning around him continue to strike at him, and from his position in the trees, Naruto launched a long-ranged fire attack, a furious streak of flame propelled by an enormous gust of wind. Yet the gates held strong, and while the lightning left dents along its surface, the fire did little to damage them. Suddenly, fire arose from the centre of the defensive formation, and a huge billow of flame rose into the sky. It formed into the visage of a fiery dragon's head, which snarled, before it split apart. Streaks of flame darted through the air as every pillar of light was targeting simultaneously. Explosions erupted all around the fallen tree and each pillar fell to the ground in crumbling heap of stone and fire.

Naruto's face was grim as he weaved another set of hand-seals- when something caught his eye. He reflexively leaned back just as a glowing streak of metal lanced out at him. Orochimaru's sword cleaved his mask in two the instant it short past him, and strands of his hair fell to the ground. The Sannin held the sword from within his mouth from all that distance away, and Naruto was struck by the resemblance to Enma's Staff. Then, the sword glowed with a bright light and Orochimaru disappeared-

- only to reappear behind Naruto in some kind of replacement technique. Naruto turned, his eyes wide, adrenaline surging, but Orochimaru was already chuckling as the thick scales of a white snake burst around him. Naruto gurgled as fangs sank into his beck and his body stiffened. He desperately tried to move his arms or legs, but he was paralysed, and something hot and painful ran through his veins. His chakra out of reach, bound and disarmed, Naruto was helpless.

"What a dangerous little boy you are," Orochimaru murmured. He bought his face in closer to Naruto, and the young, blonde ANBU saw that the Sannin had taken some damage. Flakes of burnt skin were falling off his face, but underneath it was another layer of white skin. As Orochimaru came closer, Naruto's paralysed eyes could see that skin seemed to be made from rows and rows of little white scales.

"Dangerous," Orochimaru continued, and stroked Naruto's cheek. The very touch of the man sent a twitch through Naruto's body. "Interesting, yes, but very dangerous. You could be powerful. I might have to dispose of you."

"Ah, yeah, I don't think so," came an unknown voice.

Naruto hadn't seen or sensed anybody approaching, and judging by the way Orochimaru's body abruptly went still, neither had the Sannin. Then, with a chuckle, he leaned back from Naruto and glanced up at the tree. The snake around Naruto helpfully shifted as well, allowing Naruto to look at the newcomer. His unblinking eyes were beginning to sting and water, but he made out a blurry form, with a smudge of orange where the face should be.

Wait. Orange. He'd met somebody like that before.

"More annoyances," Orochimaru hissed, sounding annoyed. "Have you come to die, then?"

A terrible pressure filled the air, and even though it wasn't directed at him, Naruto could feel the weight of it bear down on him, making him want to sink into the ground and disappear. Chakra began to seep around his form, and the very air around Orochimaru was shimmering. Tension filled the air, and the Sannin's muscles were coiling- when suddenly the man laughed, seemingly unaffected.

"How theatrical you are," the man said cheerfully. "No, I've actually come to give you a message."

"Oh?" Orochimaru lifted an eyebrow. "Pray tell, what message could be so important that…"

The man on the branch above them tilted and from beneath the orange smudge that Naruto's unblinking eyes could make out came a flash of red. Orochimaru paused, and he was close enough to Naruto for the blond ANBU to see that the Sannin had gone completely still. What's more, his mocking smile was gone and he suddenly looked very serious.

"Well now," Orochimaru said quietly. "Who could you be? You're not _him_, I can tell that, but… a survivor? Or perhaps, no… not perhaps… you must definitely be from _that _organisation."

"Here's the message!" the man said cheerfully.

What happened next was hard to Naruto to describe. His unblinking eyes, paralysed like the rest of his body, could only make out strange ripple-like patterns running through the air. Dark shapes weaved in and out of his vision and a terrible shriek filled the air, like a wind technique, except… different. The world around him went up and down, left and right, in and out, and then he felt a rush of power- not wind, but pure force- blow him back. The snake around him hissed and was dispelled and Naruto was sent hurtling to the ground. He fell from the tree, even as the tree seemed to shrink in on itself. Then, little bits of shadow exploded from it and it rose up, ignoring gravity's pull.

The momentum from the fall caused Naruto to spin through the air and he turned around. A dark mass was quickly approaching- the ground- and Naruto fought against the paralytic poison as best he could. There was a searing heat emanating from the pit of his stomach, and his veins were on fire. His fingers twitched, but could do little else as the ground rushed to meet him- and then he was suddenly in somebody's grasp and his momentum stopped. He gasped, spluttering, as he was unceremoniously dumped on the ground. The noise above him continued on for a little while longer, and then it stopped.

There were footsteps, and then the man spoke again.

"I'll repeat the message again, Orochimaru," the man said quietly, and with deadly intent. _"Don't touch my stuff._"

There was no reply, and the man chuckled.

The poison was wearing off, and Naruto managed to crane his head upwards. He blinked rapidly, tears running into his dried-out eyes, and peered forward intently. A hazy, blurry orange mask stared down at him, and Naruto felt the shock of a sudden memory strike him.

"I know you," he tried to say between loose, flabby lips, but his tongue rolled around in his mouth uselessly. "T…o… _Tobi_…"

There was a flash of red light from the orange, and Naruto's eyes were drawn to it. Then, a crimson haze passed across his eyes until it enveloped his vision, and Naruto fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

><p>With deft movements, Orochimaru extracted himself from the splintered wood and debris that littered the forest floor. His snake-like eyes gazed around him, and his grin widened as he took in the devastation. The force of the technique had levelled an entire clearing deep within the Forest of Death, and all that remained of hundred-metre trees were fallen logs and splintered. He chuckled hoarsely, licking his lips as he stood up from amidst the destruction.<p>

"What a powerful space-time technique!" he admired.

There was a flicker of movement coming from the other end of the newly-made clearing. With all the trees gone, it would be very hard for any the best of shinobi to make a quick, stealthy approach- but the Third Hokage was able to do so, and by the time Orochimaru had turned around, the old man had arrived. He stood there, mindless of the destruction around him. He wore his antiquated battle armour, old, but still effective, and he gazed upon his former student stonily. There was no warmth or fondness in those old eyes. Once upon a time, there had been. It had been the sole reason that Hiruzen had allowed the traitor Sannin to flee. But time had conquered the heart and made it hard. Orochimaru would find no mercy with his former teacher today.

Orochimaru's pale face stilled at the sight of the Hokage. Then, a slow smile crossed his face, one that another might interpret as affection. He chuckled loosely, his hoarse voice filling the silent air amidst the devastated tract of forest.

"Sarutobi-sensei," he hissed out. "It's a pleasure to see you again, especially looking so…" He gave Hiruzen a look over, and chose his word carefully. "…_formidable_. Are you going to war?"

Hiruzen stared down at his former apprentice. "What do you want, Orochimaru?" he asked stonily.

Orochimaru smiled. "I want what I've always wanted," he answered. He spread out his arms, gesturing to all that around him. "I want the truth of this world." Then, his smile faded and he lowered his arms. "Unfortunately, I'm unable to see past the ultimate deception of this world, this fabrication that we call reality."

He stopped there.

Hiruzen took a deep breath. His power lay beneath the surface of his skin, his chakra layered through his chakra circulatory system a dozen times. The pressure beneath his skin was immense, and he felt as if his _tenketsu_ would burst at any moment, yet the God of all Shinobi supressed it with well-practised ease.

"Even in this world of ours, what you did here was unforgivable, Sarutobi said quietly. "You have much to answer for."

"I do," Orochimaru confessed, "and I am humble enough to admit it. I was mistaken, Sarutobi-sensei, and for that I apologise."

Hiruzen felt a frown wrinkle his forehead. "It's unlike you to feel regret," he countered. "A wasteful emotion, you once said."

"I regret the wasted years," Orochimaru admitted. He smiled, and licked his lips with his abnormally long tongue. "I regret losing the valuable resource that Konoha was. You see, I was wrong."

Orochimaru began pacing, as if he was uncaring of the danger the Third Hokage might present to him. He began talking, his flying hands about animatedly.

"It was my belief that as denizens of this world, we were, in fact, an extension of it." He held up his finger and thumb together. "I believed that the truth of the world could be found in each and every single one of us, from the newest born baby to the oldest man, and that each person would possess a singular fraction of that truth."

He stopped his pacing, and eyed the Hokage.

"I was incorrect. In time, I have realised that the truth of the world is not found in the body. I thought that it might be found in the mind. I was wrong. I thought that perhaps it lay within the depths of the soul. Again, I was wrong." Here he shivered, an unbidden and unconscious flinch. "Oh," he said, and his voice was barely a whisper, "in that, I was terribly, terribly wrong."

Orochimaru paused. His eyes were distant, as if there was a terrible memory that was trying to drag him in, but then he shook his head and managed a tight smile.

"Oh, no," he continued. "I've discovered that the truth of the world lies in the power of the world. Our power. Our legacy from the Sage of the Six Paths."

Hiruzen watched him stonily.

"Our ninjutsu is the key," the Snake Sannin said. He gesticulated wildly. "Each ninjutsu, past, present and future, of earth, wind, fire, lightning and water, of Wood Release and Ice Release, Dust Release and Lava Release…" he trailed off. Visibly composing himself, he began again. "Each ninjutsu is part of the pattern, a single piece of the enormous jigsaw that is the truth of the world. I need to learn all of these ninjutsu, Sarutobi-sensei, and if I can put that jigsaw back together…" a blissful smile crossed the traitor's face.

"I have no interest in your delusional ramblings," Hiruzen said a minute later, when it became apparent that Orochimaru had become lost in his thoughts.

Orochimaru grinned. "You stupid, old man," he said, almost fondly. "One man's delusion is another man's reality."

"And the reality of that man is the delusion of a thousand others," Hiruzen countered. "This truth that you seek bares no relevance to this world."

"Perhaps," Orochimaru conceded. "Nonetheless, I will force it out from the false reality we call life. I will discover it for the sake of discovering it, and then I will be content."

He paused, and a deathly silence fell over the former battlefield. Both shinobi knew that a fight was pointless, and Orochimaru was content to speak provided that the Hokage were to listen. After a few moments, the Snake Sannin spoke again.

"You know, I thought about destroying this place," he mentioned conversationally. He smiled fondly. "I was going to destroy the entire village, put every last man, woman and child to the sword. In the end, though, I decided against it."

"Oh?" Sarutobi smiled tightly. "Again, you display some curious attributes today, Orochimaru. It's quite unlike you to be patriotic. Do you miss your former home?"

"A little," Orochimaru admitted. "But that was not why I made my decision. No, I had noticed that the great windmill of change had stalled in these lands. It needed to be spun again. Konoha's destruction would have provided the power for that spin, but ultimately it remained unnecessary. The Uzumaki and his army of flying shinobi did it for me."

Hiruzen's eyes narrowed. There was a tantalising thread of information in there, just a little hint of a suggestion that the Hokage did not like.

Orochimaru let out a hoarse chuckle. "Even after I led the armies of Konoha to their homes and destroyed them, who knew that the Sky Nin would survive the purge?"

Hiruzen harrumphed. "You did a piss-poor job," he criticised.

Orochimaru shrugged carelessly. "There were some children, and I was somewhat sentimental at the time. Still, even my mistakes prove fortunate in the end."

Hiruzen had sensed them coming, and they had finally arrived. In a blur of movement, three men in beige cloaks around him. The ANBU Commander and two ANBU Captains had arrived. Along with a Kage, they made for a formidable force, even against somebody like Orochimaru. Nonetheless, the Hokage raised his hand to halt them.

"There is no point," he said, and he pointed at Snake Sannin, who smiled. "That is not the real Orochimaru. He has been gone for a long time now."

"Oh?" Orochimaru chuckled. "You noticed."

"It's a very curious adaption of the earth-clone technique," Sarutobi admitted. He smiled thinly. "And for you to project your mind into it while fleeing at the same time over such a distance is quite impressive."

"I'm not what I once was," Orochimaru said, and he leaned forward. His snake-like eyes were bright. "I'm stronger. I'm more intelligent, and I'm _much_ more dangerous. Leave me be, Sarutobi-sensei, or your village will regret it."

Orochimaru was beginning to drip from the eyes and ears, thick goblets of mud sliding to the ground. The earth clone was losing form, but Orochimaru's smirk remained even as his legs began to drip away.

"In return, I'll give you two warnings," Orochimaru continued, even as his face began to dissolve. "Firstly, beware of the men in red and black. They will remake reality if you're not prepared."

The rest of his body had dissolved, and now his face went as well. Nonetheless, his voice carried over.

"Secondly, don't let them open the box. If you do, this world will end."

The earth clone finished dissolving and the last of Orochimaru's chakra faded away. Hiruzen stared at the pile of mud even as more reinforcements arrived and the ANBU Commander began giving out instructions.

His student had become an interesting person.

All of them had, in the end- even his latest. But, it was becoming more and more apparent that Uzumaki Naruto was out of his depth. For a twelve-year-old, he was impressive. For a Jonin, he was impressive. But the gap between A-rank and S-rank was huge, and given the situations that Naruto continued to find his way into, that gap needed to be closed.

Hiruzen turned away from the splattering of mud that had once been an earth-clone, his visage grim. He would recall Jiraiya, who knew more about the seal than anybody else. There was nobody better to begin that particular training with his student. Plus, there was always _that-_ Sarutobi's strongest technique.

Perhaps it was time for Naruto to learn it.


	27. Dispel

**A/N: Here's my next chapter, inspired by your awesome feedback. Cheers. I've got the next one done, I just need to go back and edit a scene. I'll probably post it tomorrow. Enjoy.**

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><p>The red permeated through his vision, enveloping everything he could see, and there was something hypnotic about it. Naruto felt as if he was in a trance. Then, it faded away and all he could see was a deep black. He must have drifted off at some point, however, because when he woke up he found that he was lying on a comfortable bed, staring up at a white ceiling. He blinked once, carefully observing his surroundings, and was unsurprised to find that he was in the hospital.<p>

There was a rustle of movement near him and somebody appeared at his side. He focussed his eyes, noting the long green jacket, the blonde ponytails and the somewhat-cruel smirk in the woman's golden eyes. Then, he groaned.

"Ah, shit," he murmured.

"No swearing," Tsunade chided as she ran her glowing green hands over his body. Whatever feedback she was getting from the medical technique obviously satisfied her, because the glow faded and she lowered her arms. "Well, don't you just keep running into trouble?"

"I don't go looking for it," Naruto deadpanned as he sat up. His ANBU armour and mask were gone, and he wore a plain hospital gown. Shaking his head, he tried to clear away some of the buzz. "What… oh…"

The events that had taken place were rapidly coming back to him. He had been on patrol in the Forest of Death, attached to Omega Platoon- and the team he had assigned with had run into an S-rank opponent. Orochimaru- perhaps Konoha's greatest traitor, all the way up there with Uchiha Itachi.

"What a terrifying enemy," murmured Naruto, his eyes distant.

Tsunade snorted. "For all that he did, Orochimaru earned his place as an S-rank. There aren't many shinobi in the world who could match him in the art of ninjutsu." As Naruto sat there, looking despondent, Tsunade scowled and rapped him on the head with her knuckles. "Don't go getting any dumb ideas, brat. Orochimaru- that's somebody way out of your league. Only Jiraiya or myself could fight evenly against him. I don't even think the old man could handle him."

"Oh, well, that remains to be seen," spoke a wizened old voice from the other side of the room.

Tsunade rolled her eyes and moved around the bed, allowing Naruto to see the Third Hokage standing in the doorway. The old man was dressed in his ceremonial robes and was sporting a pipe, which he fingered absently as he strolled through the door. Naruto always had trouble getting read on Sarutobi, but at the moment there was absolutely nothing behind those dark, fathomless eyes. Whether Sarutobi was angry, or annoyed, or saddened by his former student's behaviour, Naruto couldn't tell.

"Personally, I believe that I could give Orochimaru a run for his money," Sarutobi continued. He cast a piercing eye on Naruto. "Although it's apparent that you could not."

Naruto remained stone-faced at slight, but on the other side of him Tsunade bristled and placed a hand on his shoulder. Naruto almost jerked out of her grasp from reflex, remembering the _last_ time that Tsunade had laid even a finger on him, but her touch was comforting and reassuring.

"I don't think there are many shinobi who could, especially at his age," the Senju princess countered coolly. "I couldn't have when I was twelve, nor could Jiraiya, Hatake Sakumo, and Namikaze Minato. The fact that Naruto is even alive is a miracle in itself."

"There was somebody else there…" Naruto murmured.

Both Sarutobi and Tsunade turned to look at him. Naruto was frowning, trying to piece together his fragmented memories, but every time he tried to do so a twitch of pain and a flash of red would envelop his vision. Nonetheless, he pushed on.

"It was a Leaf-Nin, somebody I've met once before," the blond ANBU continued. "He… he had a mask. It was orange. Tobi. His name was Tobi." Naruto sat up straighter, and his eyes widened. "He saved my life…"

Sarutobi stared at Naruto for a few moments. Then, he clicked his fingers and in a flicker, a member of Konoha's Department of Communication appeared kneeling before him.

"Tell Nara Shikaku that I want a search of Konoha's Registry for anybody matching the name 'Tobi'," Sarutobi murmured. "He wears an orange mask. Have him check for derivatives. Once he doesn't find anything, he's to check the International Bingo Books- check back, say, thirty years."

The messenger nodded and disappeared with his orders.

"Naruto," Sarutobi began, and his voice was heavy. "When I said that you could not match Orochimaru- that was not an insult, nor an accusation. I was simply stating the facts. You could not match him."

Naruto nodded.

"Over the past six months, you have continuously found your way into situations that far outrank you," Sarutobi continued. He paused, tapping on his pipe. "That's not to see that you have not fought bravely, and you have proven your mettle to Konoha time and time again, However, I am seeing a pattern with you fighting against S-rank shinobi."

"So am I," Naruto answered dryly. Shinno. Tsunade. Hidan. Orochimaru. Each had given him a good arse-kicking, and he had truly never defeated any of them. "I keep losing."

Sarutobi chuckled, stroking his small goatee. "The only defeat is in death," he said. Tsunade stood back, watching the two of them with her indecipherable golden eyes. "In living, you have a chance here. As you simply cannot resist the urge to fight against opponents vastly superior to yourself, it seems I have little choice."

Naruto waited as the Hokage put his pipe away and straightened up.

"Uzumaki Naruto, you will report to Training Ground 1 at zero-nine-hundred hours tomorrow morning," Sarutobi smiled grimly. "There, we're going to start closing the gap between you and your opponents."

Naruto clenched his fists determinedly. "Yes, sir," he replied firmly.

Sarutobi turned to leave. "Oh, and by the way," he called over his shoulder, "I thought you might like to know that every genin who attended your training session past the Second Stage of the exams. Many of them didn't make it through the Preliminaries, but there were no casualties. Well done, Naruto."

He left, leaving Naruto and Tsunade alone in the hospital room. The sun filtered in through the windows, casting a warm glow on his blankets. Tsunade was observing Naruto now, a faint frown marring her beautiful face.

"Tell me, how do you feel?" she asked him unexpectedly.

Naruto frowned quizzically. "I feel fine," he answered honestly. He flexed his muscles. There were no pains, no aches. "I'd say I'll be combat-ready pretty soon."

"I see," Tsunade answered. She sounded strange, and when Naruto looked at her, she wasn't meeting his eyes. She put down his chart and began to walk out of the room. "I wasn't asking about your health. I'm your doctor- I can tell how you're feeling in that area. No, I was referring to the fact that five members of your team are dead. I was asking if you felt any sadness or guilt over their passing."

"Oh," Naruto uttered.

Tsunade shook her head almost sadly. "Uzumaki Naruto, there's something _wrong_ with you."

She left the room, leaving Naruto alone to ponder his thoughts. Whatever negative emotions the encounter with Orochimaru had stirred up had been dealt with like usual- he had shoved them in the deepest, darkest recesses of his mind and left them there. Of course he had felt… well, sad perhaps wasn't the best word, but he hadn't been happy that there had been casualties. Given Konoha's position, the village needed every capable shinobi to maintain its strength, and each death was a loss to that strength.

Naruto wanted Konoha to be strong. He kept that in mind as he lay back down to rest.

* * *

><p>Although it wasn't technically warranted, Tsunade kept Naruto in the hospital for an overnight stay. She claimed that she just wanted to be sure that there were no lingering effects from the poison of Orochimaru's snake, but Naruto had noticed how her knuckles were whitened as she grasped her clipboard, and how she had lingered in his room once her examination was done. He didn't know her motives, but he saw her golden eyes fixate on a point below his chin, where the necklace of the First Hokage rest against his bare skin.<p>

The pendent suddenly seemed so heavy, and the weight stayed with him as he left the hospital bright and early, ready for an intensive day of training. He visited the Hokage's residence first to change into some combat-capable gear, noting how Konohamaru was already absent, and then made his way towards Training Ground 1.

Training Ground 1 was one of the few areas allocated for training that were not located outside of the Village Walls. It was the premier training round reserved for the Hokage to brush up on their skills. As the skills of an S-rank Shinobi could cause some serious collateral damage if not contained, Training Ground 1 was located within the large mountain that presided over Konoha.

It was one that Naruto had never personally visited, but the Hokage had left clear instructions on how to get past the Jonin Guard and enter. A series of rocky tunnels led Naruto into the depths of the mountain, past the Evacuation Centres and Emergency Response Zones. Dim, glowing bulbs lined the walls, and Naruto descended through the tunnels for at least half-an-hour.

Finally, the rocky tunnels began to flatten out and he emerged from them in a large cavern of darkness. In front of him, he could just make out the red and white robes of the Hokage, and Naruto knew he didn't need to say anything to alert the Hokage to his presence. The low glow of Sarutobi's pipe was all that illuminated the area, but the smell of nature and water was fresh on Naruto's nose.

"Three times you have fought against S-ranked opponents," the Third Hokage spoke to him quietly, within the darkness. "Three times in less than six months." He puffed on his pipe. "Once, perhaps by chance. Twice, perhaps by coincidence. Three times? It's becoming a pattern."

Naruto stood there at attention. Sarutobi lowered his pipe.

"You have the potential to become my greatest pupil, Uzumaki Naruto," the old man said. "But for that, you need time. You don't have decades as they did. You might not even have years. Konoha needs you to be strong. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama," Naruto answered stoically.

"For the next month, I will devotee two hours a day to oversee your training," Sarutobi continued. "You will not be assigned any missions. You will not be allocated any tasks. For the next month, you will become stronger- and you shall do so in a three-fold manner."

"Firstly, your personal training will increase. I have allocated this to the ANBU roster. Three times a day, an off-duty ANBU will assist you as best they can. Primarily, I want you to work on your speed, and your ability to defend from close-combat specialists. With your repertoire of skills and chakra reserves, I believe that as long as you can keep your distance, you will outlast most opponents through sheer attrition. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

"Good." The Hokage put his pipe back in his coat. "Now…" he said briskly, and Naruto felt the old man's potent chakra flare.

Fires exploded in sudden bursts of light as, all above them, giant torches and bowls of were lit. They cast a bright light down upon the cavern, blasting away the darkness and revealing the mysteries of Training Ground 1 to Naruto for the first time. Hundreds of metres underneath the Hokage's Monument, and nestled deep within the earth, was a forest as thick and as dense as any to be found on the surface. Thick tree trunks soared up, the foliage brushing against the rocky ceiling of the cavern. Plains of grass swayed underneath from winds brought in by tiny vents and air shafts. The gurgle and trickly of streams and rivers could be heard over the mighty roar of a waterfall at the other end of the cavern.

What were especially noticeable however, were the large craters and pockmarks that decorated the surface of the ground. Some were overgrown with weeds and grass, barely noticeable, but others were fresher, more recent. They were deep, too, giant scars on the ground that had been carved out through sheer force and power.

"This is the private training grounds of the Hokage," Sarutobi explained, a fond smile on his gruff, old face. "It was created by my mentor, the First Hokage, through the powerful use of his Wood Release. I don't know how he did it, but vegetation here does not need the light of the sun to thrive. What's more, the plants here are incredibly resilient, and rejuvenate and restore themselves much quicker than normal. This, Naruto, is where you'll learn two important things."

Naruto refocussed his attention on the Hokage as the old man adopted a serious expression.

"Your battle against Uzumaki Shinno was a sign, Naruto," Sarutobi said quietly. "The seal has begun to operate at full functionality. It was always working in the background as you were growing up, lending the strength of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox to your chakra reserves. However, the Fourth Hokage was a genius, and knew that the corrosive chakra of the fox would be detrimental to your health. He designed the seal to only allow you access when your body was physically capable of handling it. I believe that time is now. Later today, Jiraiya will arrive from Secured Zone Alpha. He will come here, and he will supervise you as you begin your journey in harnessing the chakra of the most powerful of the Tailed Demons."

"I see," Naruto whispered.

He clenched his fists. It was time, then- time for him to begin to fulfil his role as Konoha's _Jinchuuriki_.

"It is not something that I want to happen," Sarutobi continued. He looked sombre. "We have never done so in the past. The First Hokage did not agree with the practise. However, Konoha is not in a position where we can overlook such a source of strength. Naruto, I am sorry, but for the sake of Konoha, you must master the power within you."

"I understand," Naruto told the Hokage quietly, He found his centre of resolve and determination, his desire to serve the village and the man before him, and he smiled peacefully. "Don't worry, Hokage-sama. I'll become the weapon that the village needs."

Those words seemed to strike something within the Hokage, and he visible staggered, as if struck. Then, a pained grimace crossed his face and he turned, not allowing Naruto to see his face.

"Very well," Sarutobi said in a whisper. He cleared his throat. "Finally, alongside your personal training, and your Jinchuuriki training, I shall be teaching you perhaps my greatest technique." He turned, eying Naruto solemnly. "Of all techniques, this is the one that I consider the most dangerous- not in its destructive power, but in its utility and versatility. It is a technique that will grow in strength as you grow with experience and knowledge. We shall begin the training now."

Sarutobi took off his hat and tossed it aside, and then leapt to the other side of the clearing they were in. He turned, his white and red robes swaying in the breeze.

"Naruto, I want you to use a ninjutsu technique," the Hokage called out. "It can be any technique, of any elemental composition."

Naruto frowned, but nodded. He made a few hand seals, reared his hair back and moulded fire chakra. It burst from the _tenketsu_ in his throat, and he spat out a large goblet of flame. His mouth was dry, and he felt like coughing, but he held it in as the giant ball of flame soared towards Sarutobi, who merely waited with his eyes closed. Then, in a sudden movement, the old man made a hand-sign with one hand. Two fingers up, three closed, thumb and pinkie touching, Sarutobi gestured at the approaching fire technique almost melodramatically- and it simply ceased to be.

Naruto frowned. One moment, there had been a ball fire. The next, there had been nothing. The old man simply smiled mysteriously.

"Again," he called out.

Puzzled, Naruto flipped through a series of hand-seals and took a deep breath.

_Water Release: Water Fang Bullet!_

The trickling stream behind the Hokage surged and grew larger, and three spinning funnels of water raced forward, moving in a way reminiscent of a drill. The Third Hokage didn't even turn back- he simply made that strange hand sign again and the water simply vanished, as if it had never been there before.

"Again."

Three shadow clones popped up next to Naruto, and they all sped through their hand seals. The air around them crackled with power, ripples forming as Naruto's dense and thick chakra spread out around them.

_Earth Release: Earth Flow River!_

_Fire Release: Blazing River!_

_Earth Release: Rising Stone Spears!_

_Wind Release: Wind Cutter!_

The ground beneath Sarutobi's feet thickened and turned to mud, creating a surging river that actually caught onto the S-ranked shinobi. Then, it began to steam as fire elemental chakra turned the mud into a thick, gooey, black tar, enveloping the Hokage's legs. Instant later, sharpened spears of rock jutted out from the ground from every angle, lancing forward to impale the immobilised Hokage, while a series of sharpened wind sickles burst forward from the real Naruto's hands, attempting to bisect the Hokage in two.

At least, that was the plan- until the Hokage made the hand-seal and every technique fell apart, one after the other. It was strange. There was no deflecting, or blocking, or shielding. The Hokage did not evade the techniques as he was easily capable of doing so.

"Is that a chakra absorption technique?" Naruto called out from his side of the field.

The Hokage smiled, made the hand-seal again, and suddenly the shadow clones on either side of Naruto disappeared. There wasn't a pop of smoke, nor were there any rushes of memories of sensory stimuli. They simply ceased to exist.

"Not quite," he replied. He strode towards Naruto, lowering his hands and pulling out his pipe. "It's actually a derivative from the _genjutsu release _technique. However, I am not breaking an enemy's illusions. Rather, I am nullifying each of his ninjutsu with a specific and exact counter."

"I see," Naruto replied after a pause, answering in such a way that showed that he did not.

Sarutobi chuckled. "With this technique, you can nullify anything the opponent uses, provided it's done with chakra. Ninjutsu, yes. Genjutsu, yes. You can even disrupt Fuinjutsu. Explosive tags, once you understand them, are quite easy to dispel. Nullifying chakra-based weaponry is easily possible, as are any devices ran using chakra as an energy source. For example, had I known what I do now, I could have bought the entire Sky Nin fleet down to the ground before they had even breached the Village Walls."

Naruto's eyebrows were raised. "It sounds like a really useful technique," he replied carefully. "So what's the catch?"

Sarutobi smiled approvingly. "The catch, my foolish young apprentice, is _understanding_."

Naruto cocked his head.

"Using the _dispel_ technique, one can counter most chakra-based techniques," Sarutobi explained. "It matters not what shape or composition the chakra is bound as, as long as it has chakra it is possible to be dispelled. However, to dispel a technique, one must first understand exactly how the technique works. Let's use your fire technique as an example. What type of elemental chakra would it use?"

"Er… fire," Naruto deadpanned.

"Good," Sarutobi said, stroking his goatee. "I'm so very happy that you were able to tell that a fire technique is made from fire elemental chakra, so easily, and with such sarcasm. Good for you."

Naruto stiffened, and dipped his head apologetically.

"So the fire technique used fire elemental chakra," Sarutobi continued. He began to walk, prompting Naruto to trail after him, and they strolled through the grassy fields, shadowed underneath the giant trees that scraped the ceiling of the cavern. "Now, I want you to pick a number."

"Eighty-six and a half," Naruto responded immediately

"Idiot!" Sarutobi thundered, and clipped him around the head. He sniffed, drawing himself up. "A _sensible _number."

"Fine. Three." Naruto answered, rubbing his poor head.

"Ah, right then," Sarutobi spoke up. They came to the stream and continued walking over it, doing so reflexively. "So we'll pretend that the fire technique was composed from three parts of fire elemental chakra, held together by shape manipulation to form a sphere. If you want to dispel that technique, you would need to form the exact quantity of chakra- only, the direct opposite in nature manipulation."

"Direct opposite… so, water elemental chakra?"

Sarutobi shook his head. "An easy mistake to make, but no." He held out his hands. "If you add water to fire, you may put out the fire, but in doing so you create steam. The same idea applies to elemental chakra. Water and fire are opposing forces, but water is not the inverse of fire. No, to dispel the flame, you would need to apply negative-three fire elemental chakra to the positive-three elemental chakra. Negative three and a positive three make a zero. Equilibrium has been reached. The technique is dispelled."

"Negative elemental chakra?" Naruto repeated. He frowned, looking puzzled. "What's that?"

"A theoretical application of chakra that only researchers and scientists have ever had a use for," Sarutobi replied. He smiled somewhat grimly. "It was deemed useless- it had absolutely no effect on the physical world around it. Nonetheless, when used properly, you can nullify the technique of any opponent. Provided, of course, you know how it works. For if I had used negative-four fire elemental chakra to counteract your positive-three, the dispel would have failed and I would be sporting some rather sooty robes. It's why I couldn't bring down the Sky Nin as they attacked- while I had a general idea of how their devices worked, I did not truly understand how to counter them."

Naruto must have looked confused as he felt, because Sarutobi chuckled and clapped him on the shoulder. "Do not worry, Naruto. It took me decades to understand this technique to the best of the ability. It's this ability that led me to master every technique that Konoha had- so that I could understand them, and dispel them. For now, we'll start easy."

He let go of Naruto's shoulders and pointed at a clump of trees.

"I will show you how to invert your chakra so that you can produce negative chakra," the Third Hokage said. "Then, I shall stand over there and use techniques on you. You are not allowed to move. You are not allowed to use any hands seals but the one I show you. The only way you can stop the attack is by dispelling it. Do you understand?"

"No," Naruto replied honestly. "But I think my ignorance is really going to hurt."

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><p>Naruto was right- it did hurt. For the next couple of hours, he stood there, unable to dodge or block any of the ninjutsu that Sarutobi targeting at him. From balls of fire, jets of water and gushes of wind, Naruto was bombarded with countless low-ranked ninjutsu.<p>

However, they were all ninjutsu he knew, and using the hand-seal and moulding the chakra how the Hokage had shown him (which, in itself, was entirely odd- not painful, but just odd), Naruto felt as if he was making some progress. It was with vigour and determination that he gestured at the latest ninjutsu- a river of mud- and made the hand seal.

_Dispel!_

He channelled his chakra, feeding it back through the tenketsu, inverting it (or attempting to), and channelling it again. There was a strange resonance within his body. It was like he had pulled on the bell-string and the initial flare of chakra had been the 'gong', yet he was attempting to channel the lingering vibrations. Nonetheless, he used this 'inverted chakra' and willed it into existence as the heart of the river of mud, which was almost upon.

There was a strange fizzle. Naruto could have sworn he saw the river bulge for a second, but then it was upon him and he was almost swept away. He channelled chakra into his feet and jumped clear of, disappointment clearly etched in his face.

"Good," Sarutobi praised from the other end of the field. His robes were pristine, and he looked as if he had just gotten showered and dressed for the day.

Naruto, for his part, was drenched, scorched and muddied. His hair was spikier than usual, the result of being shocked by lightning elemental chakra one too many times.

Sarutobi lowered his hands, and prompted Naruto to do the same. "That's all for today," he called out. He flickered, moving in and out of Naruto's vision, and appeared right before the boy in a flawless _Body Flicker_.

"Yes, Hokage-sama," Naruto agreed thankfully.

"Eat," Sarutobi ordered, throwing Naruto a ration bar. The young blond took it, ripping off the wrapper and devouring it gratefully. "You'll need your strength for what is to come next."

"Sir?" Naruto cocked his head, his mouth stuffed with the military rations.

Sarutobi shook his head. "Jiraiya has arrived," he explained. "He will be here shortly." There was a touch of heaviness in his voice. "Your other training will begin soon."

Naruto smiled. "Good," he declared with anticipation.

Sarutobi harrumphed. "Just…" he hesitated, and then placed warm hand on Naruto's shoulder. Naruto almost flinched at the unexpected contact, and his mouth dropped open. "Just remember who you are, Naruto. Stay strong to that, and you shall be fine."

Then, the Third Hokage disappeared.

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><p>Naruto finished off his rations and was doing some stretches and light exercise when it happened. One by one, the giant bowls of fire that hung suspended from the ceiling began to go out. Naruto stopped stretching and stood up, suddenly feeling wary as the torches that lined the walls began to extinguish themselves. He paused, holding his breath, even as he was submerged in darkness. Apart from the rustle of the wind in his hair and the gurgling of the creek, he couldn't hear anything, except- wait.<p>

Was that _music_?

It was. Somebody was playing a lyre.

The gentle music played in the background as two of the torches near the entrance of the training ground flashed with fire and were lit once more.

"_Rising from the East and West, the strongest of them all, he who makes silence from the cries of babies, and causes men to weep with envy. It is he who is adored, and beloved by women of all - T'is Jiraiya, of the Legendary Three!"_

There was a flash of light, small fireworks going off, and streamers and confetti fell to the ground. A huge puff of smoke went off, and when it dissipated, Naruto could see a giant toad- twice the size of man. Standing on the toad, his arms folded, grinning magnanimously, was Jiraiya. Nearby, in the background, a smaller, pink today, who seemed to be wearing lipstick and mascara, strummed her webbed-digits along a musical instrument.

Jiraiya stood there, staring off into the far horizon, grinning, obviously waiting for Naruto to do something. Not quite sure exactly what he should doing, Naruto wondered if this was some part of a play or theatre presentation. Shrugging, he bought his hands together and clapped politely.

"Well done, Jiraiya-sama," he called out. Then, not quite sure if that was enough, he added, "Good job!"

Jiraiya guffawed and snapped his fingers. Naruto had to squint as the flames returned and the training ground was lit once more. Then, he watched as the Sannin jumped off his toad and patted it on the head. The big one disappeared if a burst of smoke, while the little, pink one stopped playing. She- for it could only be a she- seemed to roll her eyes, then disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

"It's good to see somebody who appreciates a fine performance," he said jovially.

"Thank you, Jiraiya-sama," Naruto responded politely.

He strode towards Naruto, looming over the young boy with his massive frame. Everything about him was big. He was a large-statured man, and came off as being full of life and energy. Closer up, Naruto could see the laugh lines around his mouth and eyes. The shinobi-side of him also analytically studied the man's body language, noting toned muscles, perfect balance, and the sort of presence that S-rank shinobi possessed that made one's hair stand up on end.

"Well, squirt," Jiraiya began, and mussed up Naruto's hair. Naruto didn't move, but he felt a flash of displeasure. "How have you been?"

"I've been well," Naruto answered. He paused. "I did run into your teammate."

"So I heard." Jiraiya gave him an appraising look. "You did well to survive."

"I had help," Naruto explained.

Jiraiya was already shaking his head. "I read the report. You made Orochimaru work for it, even if it was only for a short while. I can use my fingers to list the shinobi in Konoha that could do that- and still have some to spare."

"Thank you for the compliment," Naruto said insincerely. He truly did not believe he deserved it- Orochimaru had gotten away, after all.

"Hmm," Jiraiya looked at him carefully. "You're very polite, aren't you?"

"You are a renowned shinobi and a respected member of Konoha," Naruto said. He gave a little shrug. "It seems only right."

"Well, personally, I think you're boring," Jiraiya said. He grinned and waggled his fingers in Naruto's face. "What do you say to that?"

"My opinions do not match up to the opinions of somebody of your mettle," Naruto answered. "If you say I'm boring, I must be."

Jiraiya harrumphed and mussed up Naruto's hair again. Naruto squirmed, but stood there until Jiraiya was done. Then, the white-haired man turned away, staring around at the grounds. His mouth moved and a mental debate seemed to rage on his face. Then he sighed, and shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, I've been tasked to teach you two things," the Sannin said, holding up two fingers. He put down one. "First, we're going to unlock the super scary power that's hidden right _there_."

He prodded Naruto in the stomach.

"And the second, Jiraiya-sama?" Naruto asked after a few moments.

"Nah ah!" Jiraiya waggled a finger. "That's a super S-ranked secret. Only I know what I'm teaching you."

"…If I don't know what you're teaching me, then how am I to learn it,"

Jiraiya mussed up Naruto's hair again, making the boy grit his teeth. "Like I said, squirt, it's a big hush-hush secret." He leaned down. "Remember- don't tell anybody about the second thing you're learning. It's a secret."

"I don't know what I'm learning, Jiraiya-sama," Naruto answered, scratching the back of his head.

"Ah! Good boy!" Jiraiya praised. He rubbed Naruto's hair again and gave a loud belly-laugh. Naruto could feel his eye twitching, but he restrained his anger, even when Jiraiya began slapping his hand down on his head. "You're tiny little super shinobi, aren't you?"

"Are you trying to make me angry, Jiraiya-sama?" Naruto hazarded a guess. Comprehension dawned on him. "Ah. This is a test of my emotional stability, to see that I can hold my temper under external pressures. There's no need, Jiraiya-sama. I routinely pass all of my mandatory ANBU psychological checks."

"Well, I wouldn't say pass…" Jiraiya mumbled.

"What?" Naruto's sharp ears had picked that up.

"Never mind, never mind," Jiraiya cried jovially. He grew a little more serious. "No, that wasn't a 'mental stability' whatever thingy. I was just seeing something. You're…" He trailed off, and laughed nervously. "Well, never mind."

Naruto watched as Jiraiya rubbed the back of his head, chuckling nervously to himself. He had only ever met the man once, back when he was debriefed over his actions during the Blitz, and the man had acted with some competence there. Now, though, he thought that Jiraiya was rather…strange.

"Right!" Jiraiya clapped his hands. "Let's get started. Sit, sit."

Naruto sat down on the grass and Jiraiya sat in front of him. The Sannin had lost his cheerful look, and he looked deadly serious.

"Now, the process to harness the powers of the Tailed Demon within you is long, arduous and painful. It will require every fibre of your strength to succeed. You can not hesitate. If you take even a single step out of place, you'll fail, and this will have all been for nothing."

The atmosphere was tense, and Naruto could feel his heart racing. This was it. This was the training that would let him stand alongside the giants of the shinobi world. But then Jiraiya spoke again, and the tension was broken.

"Or so I've been told," Jiraiya leaned back, laughing awkwardly. "Truthfully, I have absolutely no idea how to train a Jinchuuriki."

"What?" Naruto was confused.

"It's never been Konoha's practise, squirt," Jiraiya said, and eyed him carefully. "The First Hokage didn't approve of it, so the Third has never gone through with it. So, we really don't know _how_ a Jinchuuriki is trained. We've got some sketchy intelligence from the other Great Villages, but it's a closely guarded secret, and our ally, Takigakure, doesn't really have a definite strategy either."

"So, there will be no training?" Naruto hazarded a guess, sounding disappointed

"Oh, no, we'll just be winging it," Jiraiya said with a chuckle. "Konoha might not have any 'Jinchuuriki 101' courses, but we have had- and still have- some pretty good sealing experts. There are some seals that can take you within your mind, so that you can converse with the Tailed Demon and possibly access their powers."

"That sounds promising…ow!" Naruto was cut off as Jiriaya mussed up his hair.

"You're twelve!" He admonished. "Stop saying complicated words like promising. That's three syllables! It's too complicated! Say something like 'encouraging'!"

"But that's four syllables," Naruto rebutted, gritting his teeth.

He glared at the Sannin, before Jiraiya let go of his head and a piece of paper fluttered in front of his eyes. It was yellow, crinkled and old- and it seemed to be attached to his head. Then, his eyes widened, something flashed in his vision- something dark and red- and he was wet and cold and then he was gone.


	28. Into the Den

**A/N: Update number three. I had a lot of fun writing the Kyuubi scene- even if I resorted to the old cliche of using 'bold text'. There a good old fashioned training montage in here, but I absolutely loathe training scenes. I really do. There's nothing more boring than reading three of four chapters of people training. There probably won't be too many more of these.**

**Anyway. Enjoy.**

* * *

><p>It was dark, and wet, and cold.<p>

The transition for Naruto was jarring. One moment, he was sitting on the grass in Training Ground 1, listening to Jiraiya of the Sannin speak to him as the breeze brushed past his hair and the heat from the fires radiated down to him. In less than a second, he found himself somewhere completely different. He was lying on his back, eyes staring up at a dimly lit ceiling. An instant later, he had risen to his feet. Water dripped from him, the walls and the ceiling. Naruto reached for his belt and pulled out a kunai.

Where was he?

It looked to be some kind of indoor canal- maybe the inside of an aqueduct, or a sewer. Dim red lights glowed ahead, and pipes stretched all across the walls, leading further down the long tunnel to distant light. He was at a crossroads. The path before he led deeper into the tunnel, lined by the red emergency lights, but the two paths on his left and right and the one behind led only to the empty depths of darkness. He eyed the paths, smothering his emotions and trying to think logically.

The enemy would be expecting an assault from the front. Going down the long path towards the light was an obvious ambush. He glanced to his left and right and, chakra settled, he chose the one on the left. He walked towards the inky blackness and out of the range of the emergency lighting.

He didn't have to walk for long. There was a light ahead, and Naruto cautiously moved towards it. He emerged from the darkness, only to see that he had arrived at another crossroads, almost identical to the first.

Wait.

Naruto observed his surroundings very carefully. In fact, it looked _exactly_ like the one he had just walked out of. He took a deep breath, and then bent down and placed his kunai on the ground. Then, he stood, turned around and walked back into the darkness.

He came out of it at another crossroads and walked to the middle of the intersection. There, on the ground, was his kunai. He smiled grimly, picked up his weapon and stared down the tunnel. It seemed there was only one way he could go.

He began to move forward, idly noting how each emergency light he passed got that little bit brighter. The pipes seemed to stretch on forever, riveted down and held up on the walls with giant bolts. It was when he was passing one particular pipe that he noticed something etched into the metal. It looked like rust, except that it was darker in colour, and Naruto had to scratch at it with his kunai to reveal the writing.

_011506_

What did that mean? Was it a password, or a code? Naruto memorised it, stood back and continued walking. He kept an eye on the pipes, and came across another patch of rust. Underneath it, he saw another six-digit number code.

_010344_

That one seemed familiar. Naruto had sworn he had seen those numbers before. He was thinking about it as he came upon another spot of rust. This time, when he scratched it out, his blood ran cold as he stared down at the numbers.

_009676_

They weren't codes. They weren't passwords. They were registration numbers- shinobi registration numbers. Naruto knew that one in particular because had he been the one to fill in the casualty report once he had returned from the Manufactorium. It was Yuna's registration code- and now that he had been prompted, the second one was familiar because it had been the code of the Akimichi that had saved his life during the first bombing of the Blitz.

Naruto looked around and saw that along the pipes, there were countless patches of rust and weakening metal. He suddenly had no desire to see what they said, and ignored them as he kept walking forward.

The tunnel seemed to stretch on for eternity, but Naruto knew he was making progress. The emergency lights bolted to the walls were becoming brighter and brighter, and the light at the end seemed to drawing closer and closer. It was also getting hotter- much hotter, actually. Naruto abruptly realised that his clothes were almost dry from his initial fall, and that a lot of the dampness that he could feel was his sweat.

He stopped.

From what he knew, Jiraiya had placed a seal on him that would allow him to go into his mind and meet the Tailed Demon sealed into his navel. He eyed the lights and considered the heat carefully. He must be getting closer to it. He kept on walking.

As he drew closer and closer, it grew much hotter- to the point of being painful. A terrible wind was beginning to blow throughout the sewer, a wind that reeked of something foul and dead. Naruto pressed on, and had to shield his face as it grew stronger and stronger. The heat licked at his skin, and Naruto grunted as he pushed forward- it was almost like a physical barrier, but he hunched up and pressed against it with all his might.

Then, abruptly, with a single step, he was through it. Overbalanced, he came crashing down and landed in the dark water once more. He spluttered, spitting water out of his mouth- not even wanting to consider where it could have come from- and staggered to his feet. Then he paused, and his eyes widened.

He was out of the tunnels, and he had arrived in a giant room. The ceiling above had disappeared into the darkness, and he couldn't see any sign of it. The lights on the walls were bright, but they somehow didn't seem to penetrate much of the darkness in the room, providing only enough light to cast a dim glow on everything. Giant pipes lined the walls, running up, across, and then behind Naruto to disappear into the blackness.

And, on the other side of the room, there was a giant set of golden bars. They were enormous, taller than the village gate, and they, like the ceiling, stretched up into blackness. The bars gleamed with a dull shine, and paper fluttered as a wind blew to and from the cage. Naruto's eyes were drawn to the source of the noise, and he saw that there was a piece of paper where there should have been a lock and a keyhole.

A piece of paper.

Oh. _Oh_.

Naruto's face was grim as he stared into the cage. The darkness there was too strong, and he could barely make out the tag that represented his seal. He began to slowly walk forward, his feet making loud splashes that seemed to echo in the room- he did not want to sneak up on the _thing_ that lay behind those bars, after all. The wind was warm and foul, and Naruto could hazard a pretty good guess as to the source of it.

Then, as he was about to take another step towards the cage, barely having reached the middle of the room, something stirred. Naruto froze as a glowing scarlet eye appeared from the darkness, one bigger than any man.

"**Stop."**

The other eye opened now, and they fixated on Naruto like a predator fixated on its prey. Naruto could make out a figure, something huge, with a long snout, big ears, and a human-like mouth that curled up with something between a smile and a snarl. Giant, gleaming white teeth were reflected off the light.

"**If you don't stop, you'll die**."

Naruto took a deep breath- and then abruptly realised that he had no idea what to say. His mouth open, he stood there, staring at the shadowed figure of what the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox in a way that must have seemed like he was gaping. There was a rush of hot air, and a low, deep chuckle that caused the hairs on the back of his arm to stand up. Naruto closed his mouth, and then decided to do what he did for anybody he didn't know.

"Good afternoon," he greeted quietly.

"**If you say so**." The voice boomed throughout the room, and the water around him rippled through the force of it. Naruto couldn't pick out any particular emotion, but on the whole, it did not sound very friendly. "**I wouldn't know. I am stuck here in the cage, in the cold and the dark.**"

Naruto didn't quite know what to say to that. The demon had a fair point. He took a breath to steady himself and started to walk forward.

There was a flash of movement, and then Naruto reflexively jumped back as something large and red and angry slammed into the bars of the cage. The entire room shuddered, and the air whistled. Naruto landed further away from the cage, his eyes wide as he stared at the full might of what had been sealed within him. It stood larger than the Hokage's Tower, large than the village walls. Its fur was red and orange, its teeth as large as a house, its eyes glowing in the light. It seemed to be surrounded by aura of dark red light, which writhed and oozed around its gargantuan form.

"**I said stop**." The voice hadn't changed at all. The giant fox stared down at Naruto, its eyes pinning the young ANBU to the ground with a simple stare. **"If you come forward again, you'll die**."

Naruto gathered himself. "You're the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox," he said.

It wasn't a question, but the beast answered.

"**Yes.**"

"I'm a shinobi," Naruto began, but he was cut off.

"**I know**." The fox was lowering itself back into the darkness, dropping back into the water with a loud splash, and Naruto could see it resting its giant head on its paws.

"I fight," Naruto continued. He swallowed. "Sometimes my enemies are too strong. Sometimes I need to use your power to win." He paused. The giant fox said nothing. "Will you let me?" He finally asked.

The Nine-Tailed Demon Fox watched him for a very long time, and Naruto couldn't tell what was going on in those giant eyes. Understandably, there were no tells, no facial giveaways or emotions that a human might unconsciously reveal. It was an enormous mass of chakra taken physical form in the shape of a fox, after all. Then, the demon fox spoke.

"**No.**"

"I might die," Naruto continued. He thought back to his fights, against those shinobi who so far outclassed him it wasn't even funny. "I almost have."

"**I know**."

"If I die, what will happen to you?" Naruto licked his dry lips. "I don't know if things like you _can_ die like we do, but shinobi don't think you can, that the Tailed Demons just reform somewhere else. Is that painful? Does it hurt?"

"**Yes.**"

"If you let me use your power, then I'll live," Naruto said. His fists were clenched, his knuckles whitened. Every part of his body felt tense. "I have enemies that might kill me."

Finally, he got another reaction of the fox. The giant beast shook, and the water rippled as a low, rumbling filled the room. The walls seemed to shake, the pipes rattled on the walls, and Naruto realised that the demon was laughing.

"**Of that, you truly have no idea.**" The fox spoke, sounding like it was chortling. Its laughter died down after a few moments, and silence filled the air, save for the drip of water and the light rush of the demon's breath. "**Regardless, my answer remains. No.**"

"Why not?" Naruto took a step forward, his face determined. "I need to be able to protect my…"

Something moved in front of him and Naruto grunted. He struck back something with his kunai, the metal striking metal and producing a shower of sparks, but it looped around and wrapped around his leg. It was a tight grip, one that dug into his skin, and Naruto grunted. He looked down, his heart racing.

It was a chain, a corroded, metal chain, made of the same blackish rust that he had seen back on the pipes.

"**I told you not to step forward**." The fox shifted, moving its head. "**I will answer your question**."

The chain around his leg tugged at him, and Naruto dug back on his heels. He flipped through a few hand-seals, moulding chakra- and the pipes on the wall began to shudder and squeal, shaking against their brackets. Naruto, almost finished casting a wind technique to slice away the chain, paused.

"**In this place, that would be unwise**." The fox said. Its crimson eyes stared down at him, showing absolutely nothing. There was no amusement, nor concern or anger, in its eyes."**You shall not wield my power because you in doing so you will unchain that which has been chained**."

"What?" Naruto asked, gritting his teeth as the chain pulled him closer and closer to the giant golden bars of the cage.

"**Look down**."

Naruto did so, and his eyes widened. The chain was not dragging him to the cage, nor did it seem to be coming from it. Rather, right before the cage, there was a huge abyss, of cracked stone and concrete, leading down into blackness. As Naruto got closer and closer to it, he saw movement in there- something shifting in the pitch black. He struggled against the chain, and to his surprise it snapped. It reared back, as if a living thing, and retreated back into the abyss from where it had come.

"What… what is that?" Naruto gasped, stepping back from the crevice.

The fox shifted its gaze. "**That is your child**." There was inflection in its voice now, something that sounded like disgust. "**That is what you have nurtured all of these years. It is the sum of your fear and hatred and anger and pain and sorrow. You have fed these into that pit, where it has taken hold and grown under your tender care.**"

"What?" Naruto didn't understand, couldn't understand.

There was a pain in his head, and he forced it back down. He took in a deep breath, forcing everything back down, calming himself- and the room shuddered. There was the sound of clanging chains, and Naruto stared at the abyss with horror.

"**That is everything you hide from. That is everything that causes you pain**." The fox continued. "**It is disgusting. It is foul. It is your legacy- the legacy of the human race, their greatest creation.**"

The fox turned its large, crimson eyes back on Naruto, and there was condemnation in them.

"**It is misery.**"

Naruto looked away from the fox, and he looked away from the crevice. His head was hurting again.

"**Listen.**"

He shook his head.

"**Listen!**" The fox was insistent.

Naruto listened. There were voices coming from the black, tiny little voices that he could barely hear- but hear them he did.

"_I'm cold! It hurts! There's so much pain! It hurts so much! Make it stop! Make the pain stop! Take it away! Why does it hurt! Help me! Please! Stop this pain!"_

"_I hate them! I hate them so much! Fuck them all! We'll kill them! We'll tear them to fucking pieces! We'll kill them, and their families, and everybody they've ever loved! We'll burn their homes with their children inside!"_

"_I'm so lonely. Where is everybody? Why do I sit in the dark? Help me. Please. Somebody? Anybody? There must be somebody who can love somebody like me! Please! Please!"_

"…_Why won't anybody love me?"_

Naruto jerked back.

"**That is why you cannot have my power,**" said the giant fox. "**For you are foul. You are diseased, Uzumaki Naruto. There is darkness in you that has taken root and grown fat off of your misery and my power. You have created this abomination, so close to where I could smite it, and yet so far. For that, Uzumaki Naruto, I hate you."**

The fox leaned forward, pressing its muzzle to the cage.

"**I hate you. I loathe you. I **_**despise**_** you. Leave here, and never come back.**"

Silence filled the room. Water dripped from the walls and the ceiling above. Naruto stood there, reflecting on the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox's words as the giant beast retreated back into its cage, disappearing from view.

"Then…" He paused. Anger was welling up now. "What did you just say- the part about it being fed off of your power?"

An eye cracked open in the darkness.

"Shinobi do this all the time," Naruto continued. His tone was quickening, his heart racing. He licked his lips. "We repress. I'm told it's not healthy. But not everybody has a giant chain monster trying to… I dunno, eat them, do they?"

Naruto smiled, baring his teeth.

"This is your fault," he concluded. His voice was firm. "If I'm that _thing's_ father, then you're its mother. I created it, but you raised it and fed it." He spat to one side. "Take some fucking responsibility."

"**I did not ask to be put in this cage**."

"And I didn't ask to be the one holding the key!" Naruto retorted just as quickly.

Both eyes opened now.

"**You do hold the key.**" The fox came back into view. It stared at Naruto. **"There is another way. Free me.**"

"No," Naruto denied.

"**Release the seal. Set me free. I will destroy this abomination."**

"Never," Naruto promised quietly.

"**Let me go. Give me my freedom. In return, I shall grant you the power that you want. There will be no enemy that could stand up to you. You can fight for your village.**"

Naruto shook his head.

"You're stuck with me," the young ANBU said quietly. "When I die, you'll die. If I live, you live. Look, I'll try to work on… on _that_," and he pointed to the crevice and the sounds of jingling chains. "But, I'm going to need something in return."

"**I see**." The fox moved closer. It rested its paws on the ground and bought its muzzle right up to the bars of the cage. "**There is still one issue of concern. Observe**."

Naruto watched as a tendril of the red aura that surrounding the fox in the glowing haze rose off of the beast. They travelled towards the pipes that ran into the cage and entered it with a hiss of steam. The pipes rattled and grew hot, water hissing and spluttering, and Naruto could see a faint red shine begin to move across the room through the pipes. But then, as it left the cage, the chains rattled and dozens of them shot up. They wrapped around the pipes on the walls, and the metal groaned in protest. The red glow continued unimpeded, but the chains were swaying and bobbing in movements reminiscent of the suckling of a baby on a teat.

As the red glow approached Naruto, he felt a surge of power flood his body, of red-hot chakra that whipped every muscle into frenzy- but his head suddenly was flooded with pain and hate and anger and sadness. He clutched it, grunting, but the sensation had already begun to fade, as well the unnatural vigour that had rejuvenated his entire body.

"**It feeds off of my chakra as it leaves the cage**," the fox said. It rested its paws on its legs. **"The chakra will not run out- it cannot run out. But, those chains corrupt everything they touch**. **When you take my power, you take a little bit of that which resides in that pit.**"

"That's… my problem," Naruto said after a pause. He flexed his fingers, and smiled tightly. "Besides, if I can do something to fix… that thing… then I'll know that I have by using your chakra."

The Nine-Tailed Demon Fox stared at Naruto for a very long time. The blond ANBU wasn't sure how long had gone past, for he was lost in the glow of the inhuman eyes and the miasma of dark-red power that surrounded the mighty fox.

"**Very well,**" the fox finally said. **"I shall grant the use of my power**."

"Thank you," Naruto said gratefully, and with a rush of relief.

"**But make no mistake, **"the giant fox continued. **"That pit, this cage, the pipes- this is all symbolism. We are not truly here. These things represent ideas and concepts about you, and in that pit is no monster. There is nothing in there that did not come from you."**

"Then…then what is it in there?" Naruto asked quietly.

The fox smiled, baring its teeth."**It is the lonely child. It is the angry victim. It is the grieving friend. It is the hatful warrior. It is Uzumaki Naruto**." It began to retreat into the darkness. **"Now go**."

"How do I leave?"

"**Foolish boy. You already have**."

* * *

><p>Naruto blinked, dazed. There was something on his head, a tag of paper- yellowed and old. Before his eyes, it fell off, swaying gently in the wind and dropping into his lap. He picked it up, staring at the yellowing paper and the faded writing. Before his eyes, the paper began to crumble away into dust, and he let the wind blow it out from between his fingers.<p>

He took in his surroundings. He was sitting back on the grass in the field, deep beneath the Hokage's Monument. The fires above him were casting a brilliant light all around him, warming him as the breeze brought in by the intricate system of vents tunnelled in through the rock.

"Welcome back!" somebody called.

Naruto turned his head. Jiraiya was sitting on a nearby rock- one that hadn't been there before. The Sannin had a notebook in his hand, and he was scribbling something down. He hadn't looked up yet, and he briefly paused, placing the pen on his lip for a moment, before scribbling down something else. Then, he put the pen and notebook away.

"How did it go?" Jiraiya asked cheerfully. "I assume from the traces of demonic chakra that you made contact?"

"I did," Naruto answered. He held a hand to his head, feeling a vestige of pain. "And it went…weird."

"Weirdly," Jiraiya corrected. "Use your adverbs properly."

Naruto just looked confused. Jiraiya ignored him, however, and adopted a serious expression. The changes in the man's demeanour, from cheerful to solemn, made Naruto sit up straighter.

"Tell me everything."

And so Naruto did. Jiraiya sat there, listening. Naruto half-expected the man to be writing something down with his notebook, but the Sannin just sat there fiddling with his pen, listening attentively. When Naruto was done, the Sannin just at there, thinking. He was quiet for a few minutes, letting Naruto sit back. The young ANBU found that he was rather anxious about how the legendary shinobi in front of him would react.

"Heh," Jiraiya uttered. He grinned, and ruffled Naruto's hair. Naruto visibly squirmed under the hand of the older shinobi. "You did alright, kid. Now, let's see what you can do."

Naruto nodded, and closed his eyes. The Nine-Tailed Demon Fox had resided in the sewers of his mind- but like the beast had said, that had just been a representation, a symbol. Now that he had been there once, he found that he could easily go there again.

And he did.

A river of tainted power surged into his veins. Every cell in his body became enflamed. His heart beat furiously; his veins surged with adrenaline and power, his muscles thickened, and his fingers flexed as his nails sharpened. Skin was drawn back, tightening against his bone, and this had the effect of extending his lips, his snarl ever prominent on his face.

Overall, the physical changes were easy to handle.

However, the mental and emotional changes that he went through made him cry out in pain, and he clutched his head. His head became full of whispers, the whispers of those that came from the pit and the clang and rattle of chains filled his ears. Anger, rage, sorrow, pain, grief, loneliness, abandonment - they filled him up until he could barely think.

He gasped and choked, swaying on his feet even as a shroud of crimson chakra enveloped him, surrounding him with miasma of heat and power. A single, swaying tail of the bubbling power formed up behind him. He jerked, placing both hands on his head, trying desperately to control himself. His mouth moved, whispering soundlessly at first, but getting ever louder.

"Stopitstopitstopitstopitstopitstopitstopitstopits topitstopit…." Naruto gasped and spat. He grimaced. "I'm real…I'm real… I'm here…"

Through all of this, Jiraiya stood back, his arms folded as he watched on stonily. It was only when Naruto lifted his now-crimson gaze to stare hatefully at him did he moved- and just in time, as the swaying tail of crimson power swung up from behind him and elongated, striking out at the Sannin in a manner reminiscent of a scorpions sting.

The white-haired Sannin jumped backwards, and the blow struck the ground. It cracked, and the dirt trembled underneath their feet. Jiraiya landed, and continued to watch Naruto carefully, but the young blond had stopped, and was currently hunched over.

Then, the miasma of chakra around him grew thicker and thicker, until it was like Naruto was completely cloaked in a haze of dark-red energy. Hands clenched in his hair, Naruto brought them out, ripping out parts of his scalp, and he lifted his head back and _screamed_.

It was the scream of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, and it reverberated around the training ground. Trees swayed underneath its force, the ground shudder and the creek rippled. The wind was blown back and the grass flattened and, for a single instant, the power around Naruto took form above his head, becoming that of a leering fox.

Then it disappeared, and began to recede, and Naruto stop screaming. He stood there, hunched over with both hands on his knees, as his features became more and more visible. Finally, with what seemed like a great deal of effort, he straightened up. Face twitching, he turned to face Jiraiya.

"I'm… I'm fine…" Naruto said raspingly. There was an echo in his tone, something that came just a split second after he spoke. "I've…I've got this. It's okay."

Jiraiya nodded. "So I see," he said quietly. "Now, let go of that power. I've seen enough."

Naruto obeyed.

"I'll need some time to think," Jiraiya said. He slapped Naruto on the back, the boy wincing as the force of the blow made him stumble. "Let's go chill out somewhere. Say, do you like hot-springs?"

* * *

><p>The very next morning, Naruto woke up early at six o'clock. He quietly left his room, entered the kitchen and prepared breakfast for Konohamaru and the Hokage. Then, dressed in his ANBU uniform, he left the Hokage's residence and made his way down to Training Ground 8- a large field reserved purely for the ANBU Corp.<p>

A man was standing there, waiting. He didn't have his mask on, so out of common courtesy, Naruto also took off his mask and clipped it onto his belt.

"Good morning," Naruto greeted, falling back onto his politeness. He had never met this man before.

The man's dark eyes bore into his. "I am Crow-2," he said tonelessly. He reached behind his back and pulled out a sword. "I have been instructed to work in improving your speed, and close-combat tactics. We shall begin. No ninjutsu."

Then, in a blur of movement, the man darted forward, swinging the gleaming blade in a smooth arc. It would have taken off his head had Naruto not brought up both arms, blocking the strike with his forearm guards. His arms strained under the pressure- the man was far stronger than he looked, but Naruto dug in his heels and held his ground. He saw the follow-up kick coming, lowered his arms and hunched down, taking it with his elbows- but then Crow-2 abruptly ceased pushing with the sword, and Naruto lost his balance. He staggered, regaining his footing with ease but taking a moderate blow to the stomach.

He skidded back, his heart racing.

"You are small," Crow-2 said dispassionately, "And you are weak. You cannot match my strength. Block only when necessary. Parry when possible. Use my momentum against me. Evading is preferable."

He levelled the blade at Naruto, and charged.

Naruto was more ready this time, and he ducked the first swipe, and then rolled to the side to avoid the follow-up kick. He landed in a crouch, his hands gripping the earth, and as Crow came at him again, he hurled a fistful of dirt at the man's face. The man reflexively raised an arm- and Naruto struck, rising up and scoring a quick strike in the man's stomach.

Crow-2 remained expressionless. "Good," he said. "We will work on your conditioning your reflexes to a greater degree at first. There will be no need for ninjutsu. Once I believe you are fast enough, we will look at diversionary ninjutsu and tactics that will let you keep distance."

Naruto nodded resolutely. Then, Crow charged again and Naruto met him head on, parrying the blade to the side in a shower of sparks, his heart racing as adrenaline surged through him.

* * *

><p>By the end of the session, Naruto felt like he was wiped. He made his way down to Training Ground 1 and met with the Hokage, who stood in front of the burbling stream, reading over a scroll. The old man sensed his presence and rolled the paper up, tucking it into his white and red robes.<p>

"Let us begin," Sarutobi said, and Naruto nodded. The Third Hokage began lecturing as his student listened on avidly. "Now, the Dispel Technique is very powerful, but don't assume that you shall win a fight with it alone. In order to counter a technique, you must _understand_- understand how it works, and how it is shaped, and how it is formed, and how it reacts to external stimuli. Considering that the Great Villages hoard their secrets, this can quite troubling."

"Nonetheless, we shall work nullifying techniques that you are already familiar with. I have with me a list of ninjutsu- a mixture from all different elemental compositions. Study them. Pull each ninjutsu apart, look at its components and _understand_. My expectation is that you will be able to dispel each technique by the end of the month. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama," Naruto nodded obediently.

"Then begin."

* * *

><p>He was still studying one of the ninjutsu scrolls, absently munching on a ration, when Jiraiya arrived. Luckily- for Naruto, at least- the man did not make as grandiose of an entrance as before. It was good thing that he didn't, for Naruto was still unsure on how he should present himself to the legendary shinobi.<p>

Jiraiya was a well-respected shinobi of Konoha, one of the best to have lived, and praised and renowned for his deeds in service to the Village. That alone demanded that Naruto treated the man with respect.

Even if he was odd.

Even if he was annoying.

Even if he _wouldn't keep his bloody hands to himself._

"Gah!" Naruto blurted out as a large hand came down on his blond locks.

He squirmed as his hair was ruffled, glaring up at the offender indignity. He hadn't sensed anybody coming, and he had to calm his heartbeat as he saw Jiraiya staring down at him, grinning stupidly.

"Yo, brat!" the Sannin said cheerfully.

Naruto jumped to his feet, pushing away his irritation, and bowed his head politely. "Good afternoon, Jiraiya-sama," he managed to say calmly, and with respect.

Yet he couldn't stop the hand coming up to fix up his hair.

Jiraiya watched him do that, a sparkle in his eye, and then plopped down right next to him. He placed his arm on his leg and rested his chin in his palm. He was looking over the scroll that Naruto was reading carefully, but after a few seconds he made a noise of disgust.

"Urgh, how boring," he moaned. He reached into his red vest. "Here," he said. "Try this. Read page 32 out loud. It's the best part."

Naruto took the proffered orange book curiously. Were these Jiraiya's personal notes? Maybe his journal- but then, wouldn't it be coded. He opened it up to the correct page and began reading.

"She moaned in pleasure, the warmth filling up her body from head to toe, as the handsome man rested his hands on her back, holding her close. Every curve of her body moulded into his strong, firm chest, her bountiful bosom heaving with pleasure as the two forbidden lovers passionately kissed underneath the moonlight…" Naruto read out, and trailed off.

"Go on!" Jiraiya said with an encouraging grin. "Trust me, it's going to get really good!" He threw Naruto a thumbs-up.

Naruto eyed the book with confusion. "Is this to help me with my Jinchuuriki training, Jiraiya-sama?" he asked, although he felt something like butterflies as his eyes scanned the page- and they widened noticeably as he got to a specific bit.

"Gah!" Jiraiya scoffed. He ruffled Naruto's hair again, ignoring the boy's squirming. "Like I said. Boring!"

Naruto shrugged, and closed the book. He made to hand it back, but the Sannin was shaking his head.

"Keep it," the white-haired man said, and gave a giggle. "It's an order. I want you to read that tonight."

"Is this to do with the second part of my training?" Naruto ventured cautiously.

"Sure, why not?" Jiraiya confirmed. Suddenly, he paused, and stared down at Naruto suspiciously. "Wait. You _do_ know where babies come from, right?"

Naruto cocked his head. "A penis is inserted into the vagina. There, semen is released from the testicles. In that semen, sperm cells move down…"

"Okay, okay," Jiraiya hushed him- and for a moment, he looked uncomfortable. "Please stop." He regarded Naruto with a frown. "You make everything so boring. Hey, want to visit the Hot Springs later? I'll show you what I mean."

"What?" Naruto was confused.

Jiraiya gestured to the book, cupped his chest and waggled his eyebrows. Naruto's eyes widened and he gaped. He could feel a flush of heat his cheeks and he almost stammered. His eyes darted around, looking for eavesdroppers, and he moved in.

"You can _do_ that?" the blond boy whispered, sounding fascinated.

"You can," Jiraiya said, grinning broadly. He clapped Naruto on the back. "We'll make a pervert out of you, kid. For now, though, let's talk about your training."

Naruto nodded and composed himself. "As you say, Jiraiya-sama," he said politely.

"Tch. You speak in such a boring manner," Jiraiya muttered. He mussed up Naruto's hair. The boy's eye twitched, but he otherwise held still. "Here's the deal, kid. Every time you say something that makes me feel like I want to go to sleep, I'm going to do that."

"I apologise, Jiraiya-sama…" Naruto trailed off with a hiss as Jiraiya mussed his hair again.

The white-haired man was enjoying this! Naruto held in a glower and fell silent.

"Well, about your Jinchuuriki training…" Jiraiya trailed off, adopting a pondering expression. He rubbed his cheek thoughtfully. "Yep. You suck at it."

Naruto twitched. "Excuse me…" The hand came to mess his hair. Naruto gritted his teeth. "With all due respect, Jiraiya-sama, how was that boring?"

"Most kids say 'what?'," and here Jiraiya spoke in a clearly-exaggerated gruff voice, "and not 'excuse me?' like a pretty princess. Be a man!"

"I'm twelve," Naruto deadpanned.

Jiraiya harrumphed. "Anyway," he said, and he mussed up Naruto's hair again. The blond ANBU took it with resignation. "Stop distracting me. I was trying to say something important."

Naruto held his tongue, but the Sannin seemed to have the same horrible ability as the Third Hokage to pull out the urge that made him want to scream at people- and then put them on fire. Lots and lots of fire.

"As I was saying, you suck as a Jinchuuriki," Jiraiya repeated himself. "Look at you, you girl. You can't use the power because of all your emotional baggage. What a woman."

Naruto was cocking his head, confused. "I'm only following the standard ANBU procedures for dealing with emotional conflict," he said. "And- _that wasn't boring, it was a fact!_"

"Heh," Jiraiya said with a grin, removing his hand. "Still, we've got a couple of options. I thought about having you see a professional, but I kind of want to keep this hush-hush. The old man doesn't like it when I go around breaking S-rank secrets, and this particular training definitely counts."

"My emotional issues won't be a problem…" Naruto began. He shuddered, and twitched as Jiraiya mussed up his hair. It was beginning to get painful. "I'll deal with them. I just need practise…" He continued between gritted teeth.

"And that's what we're going to do," Jiraiya concluded cheerfully. "So get off your lazy bum, and let's get started."

Naruto rose to his feet, placing his scroll and other assorted pieces of equipment away. The Sannin moved to a safer distance.

"Assume your 'chakra shroud'," Jiraiya instructed.

Naruto nodded, and went back to the sewers- or at least, touched upon the part of his mind where they were 'located', so to speak. He felt the terrible power coarse through his veins- and with it, the rush of terrible sensations and feelings that accompanied it. It took him a few minutes before he regained proper control of himself and stood up, shrouded in a haze of dark red chakra. It coated his skin, bubbling and hissing away, and he could _feel_ the tail swaying behind him, like it was a third arm, an extension of himself. The world around him seemed both darker and brighter. The colours had been muted, and everything seemed to be coated in a haze of red, but at the same time everything felt more vibrant and clear.

If it wasn't for the terrible mental conflict that was waging war in his head, Naruto could get quite used to this.

Jiraiya was nodding. "Good," he said. "Slow, but good. Drop it, and try again."

Naruto let go the power, and was silently relieved when the horrible feelings went away.

"We'll work on your speed in drawing out the power," Jiraiya said thoughtfully. "Your enemies won't let you just stand there and gather power- and wow, I feel like a hypocrite when I say that."

Naruto cocked his head. "Excuse me, Jiraiya-sama?" Then, he bit his lip as the man somehow cleared the distance and was striking Naruto on the head with the flat of his palm like he was a dog.

"Don't be boring!" the Sannin chided. Naruto gritted his teeth.

"Anyway, once you can summon the power quickly, we'll work on looking at what you can do with it. Hmm, we might spar. I prefer working hands-on, anyway."

He ruffled Naruto's hair.

"Stop making faces!"

Naruto's eye twitched and he felt his fingers flexing. A rather high-pitch giggle threatened to escape him. He had fought against Tsunade, an S-rank shinobi and somebody that Jiraiya was supposed to be in the same league, but the prospect of facing Jiraiya in a spar- well, there was something _satisfying_ about the thought.

* * *

><p>Naruto's training continued in this fashion for quite some time. He continued to work on his physical endurance and reaction times, and he expanded his repertoire of tactics to evade close-combat shinobi- the greatest threat to a long-distance fighter such as himself. Crow-2 was replaced by Snake-9, who was replaced by Dog-6. The focussed, one-on-one training- something that Naruto hadn't had a chance to do in a long time- went well.<p>

His prowess with the Dispel Technique continued to grow. He poured over the seven techniques, pulling each one apart and studying every aspect of it. Nature manipulation, shape manipulation, elemental composition, whichof the _tenketsu_ were used when moulding the chakra for it- every part of the technique was dissected and studied until Naruto felt he knew them like the back of his hand.

And then, halfway through the month, he finally nullified the first of the techniques. The '_Earth Release: Rising Plateau_' rose from the ground and then Naruto, making the strange hand-seal and moulding chakra as he was instructed to do so, projected the inverted, 'negative chakra' at the very centre for the earth technique. Before his very eyes, it simply disappeared and collapsed in a pile of dust.

Naruto was pleased- but then he got right back to work. There were six more to finish, after all. However, with one done, he was confident he could get it finished, especially with the help of his shadow clones.

His training under Jiraiya was also reaping some good results. He could call upon the power of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox in under ten seconds now. However, he had found that with that much corrosive chakra pouring through his veins, it was almost impossible for him to mould chakra for his standard shinobi techniques. That said, under the shroud of the crimson power, Naruto found that his reflexes, physical strength and sheer speed had tripled, and the more he used the power, the stronger he became.

To Naruto, his tactics any future fights seemed simple. Use long-range ninjutsu when fighting at range, keeping his distance between him and his enemy. If the enemy came in close, evade and keep them at bay while summoning the fox's power. Then, using his powers as a Jinchuuriki, engage in close-combat with superior speed and overwhelming strength to defeat his enemy.

Perhaps one day, when sparring with Jiraiya, it might even work. His aggravating tendencies aside, the man hit like a brick and knew such a diverse range of techniques that it was almost impossible to land a hit- even when Naruto _really wanted to because the Sannin was so goddam annoying!_

He kept his cool, though- and that seemed to annoy the Sannin even more. Naruto took a deep-seated pleasure in watching the man scowl as he continued to be polite and respectful, doing it now more so to annoy the other shinobi than out of any real respect.

(Although he had kept the book, hidden underneath his blankets with a low-grade explosive tag rigged on it just in case Konohamaru came snooping. It was an… interesting… read.)

* * *

><p>At the end of the month, however, Naruto was called into the Hokage's office right after his personal training. He arrived in a quick <em>Body Flicker<em> and, sensing visitors, made sure he arrived in a crouch, kneeling before the Third Hokage.

It was important to show the proper respect, especially in front of foreign dignitaries.

"Excellent," the Third Hokage said quietly. He stood by his window, staring out at the village. A pipe was tucked into his mouth, which he puffed on every so often. "He has arrived. Stand, please."

Naruto obeyed, standing up and quickly observing the office. There were three others present in the room. Baki, of Suna, a dark-skinned man with what seemed to be a giant hammer strapped to his back sporting a Kumo headband, and a slender woman that Naruto recognised as Kurotsuchi, from Iwa. She gazed at him with her pupil-less eyes and winked.

"Uzumaki Naruto." the Third Hokage turned to look at him. "After consulting with the other Great Villages, it has been decided that you shall be the proctor for the Third Stage of the Chunin Exams."

Naruto stiffened.

"This is a very prestigious position, and you should be honoured in the trust that both Konohagakure and the other Great Villages have placed in you," the Hokage continued. He eyed the representatives from the other villages. "As representatives for your leaders, do you all agree with Konoha's decision to select Uzumaki Naruto as the proctor for the Third Stage."

Baki bowed his head, but kept his eye on Naruto even as he spoke to the Hokage. "The Fourth Kazekage accepts, Hokage-sama."

The large, dark-skinned man dipped his head. "The Fourth Raikage accepts, Hokage-sama," he murmured in low, deep voice.

Kurotsuchi bowed her head- but very slightly. "The Third Tsuchikage will accept the will of the other Villages," she said casually. She paused. "I was meant to say that in 'clipped' tones, okay, Hokage-sama?"

Sarutobi chuckled, and smoothed his goatee. "I understand," he said warmly. "Iwagakure accepts, however reluctantly. As a representative of Konoha, I also accept."

Naruto raised a hand. "Excuse me, Hokage-sama," he said quietly, "But do I have to accept?"

"Not at all," the Hokage said with a smile, and Kurotsuchi visibly snickered. Sarutobi turned to the other representatives. "I think we're done here. Thank you for arriving so promptly with your news. I wish your genin well in the upcoming exams."

They all nodded and left the office. Naruto could sense the presence of multiple ANBU around them, although it wasn't like Sarutobi needed any help dealing with them. He hid his displeasure as he turned back to the old man, watching him as he sat back down in his chair.

"With all due respect, Hokage-sama…" he began.

"You know, I find that when somebody begins a sentence 'with all due respect', they usually are about to say something disrespectful," Sarutobi said with a chuckle. "No, no, go on," he said, waving Naruto to continue.

"Why have I been given this job?" Naruto asked bluntly.

"Ah, that's simple," Sarutobi said, smiling. "It's because our village is weak."

Naruto froze. "Excuse me, Hokage-sama?"

"Of course, we're not," Sarutobi continued. "However, in the eyes of our competitors, we are reeling from a series of devastating blows. The Blitz put a dent in our forces, and while most of the repairs of our infrastructure have been completed, we lost some significant manpower during the attack. Make me some tea."

Naruto moved to do so as the Hokage puffed on his pipe.

"The attack by the Cult of Jashin also had a significant impact, with the short-term implications of a slowing in the logging industry, and the long-term implications of our troop movements," the Hokage continued. "There is rising trouble along the border between the Land of Hot Springs and the Land of Frost. Both are situated between us and the Land of Lightning, and the latter has not liked our incursion into the Land of Hot Springs."

"Kitsune has been doing some good work then?" Naruto asked as he made the tea.

"No," Sarutobi said quietly, and Naruto turned to look at him. The old man had a grim look on his face. "The work that Kitsune and Alpha Platoon are doing is not 'good'. However, it is quite necessary, and they are very effective."

Naruto handed the cup of tea over to the Hokage, and then prepared to be barraged by boiling water. To his faint surprise, the Hokage did not do so, content to merely sip the tea and sigh in satisfaction.

"Which brings me back to my point," the old man said. "We are perceived as weak- or rather, weakened. I want to change that, both so our clients can see that we are still worthy of their investment, and so that our rivals can see that we are no wounded animal to be flocking over. To do that, I am going to use you."

Naruto cocked his head.

"Naruto, you are going to be the face of this Village for these exams," the Third Hokage said. He smiled faintly. "We are going to put your skills to good use." He reached into one of his drawers and pulled out a folder. "Here. Read this."

Naruto took it and read it. When he was done, his eyebrows were raised.

"Is that why…" He began.

"Partly," Sarutobi admitted. "But it worked in well with my plans for continued development. Tell me, what do you think?"

"Well, it's definitely showy," Naruto admitted. He scratched his head, thinking deeply. "But I can do it."

"Excellent," the Hokage said. "Now run that down to Yamanaka Inoichi, and then have him through the profiles of the attending Feudal Lords. I want to give them a show that they'll never forget."


	29. The Chunin Exams: Part I

**A/N: I've decided that I'll be going back to the start and changing a few things. When I first started this, I pictured a series of outtakes- but then my ambition grew and I decided I wanted a large, complicated story. The tone of the first few chapters, then, doesn't match with the tone of the rest of them, so I'll be moving them to a new stories called 'Outakes of a Life in Konoha's ANBU' and probably start the story with a prologue, and then right onto the 'Sacred Scroll of Sealing' chapter.**

**Also- this was a pain to write, hence the lateness. Writing about people other than the main protagonist is hard- but I also wanted to show a few things, so, yeah. For the record, all of the recent updates have been written on the spot. I've had a bit of time off work and decided to get some done. I haven't been hoarding of anything- I post it on DLP first, team spirit and all that, and a day later it comes on here**

**Also- I've been told that this comes off similar to a game show. Good. That's the point.  
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* * *

><p>On the very day of the Chunin Exams, two shinobi met. Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Hokage of the Village Hidden in Leaves, and Jiraiya of the Legendary Three stood on the Hokage's Monument, staring down at the village. It was early in the morning and the stars were still out. The street lights were still on, and they twinkled in the darkness, even as the sun began to rise on the horizon. The Third Hokage puffed on his pipe, looking out at his beloved village, while Jiraiya sat on the head of the Second Hokage, watching the stars.<p>

Sarutobi lowered the pipe from his lips. "It has been a productive month," he murmured. "We are well prepared for the Chunin Exams. The Tsuchikage, Kazekage and Raikage will not find us wanting."

"I have to say," Jiraiya began. "I don't like the idea of using Naruto as a showpiece. He's already getting enough attention as it is." He didn't look at the Third Hokage while he was speaking. "I don't like it, old man."

"You don't have to," Sarutobi rebuked quietly. "Unfortunately, you truly don't have a say."

"I am his godfather," Jiraiya reminded. He folded his bulky arms. "I would have thought that would have given me some sort of say."

Sarutobi smiled gently. "According to all of the legal documents, Uzumaki Naruto is a ward of the state- and falls under my jurisdiction." He puffed on his pipe. "Don't worry. He's become a fine shinobi. His parents would be proud."

"Minato would be," Jiraiya said. "Kushina-" here he winced, "Well, we'll be hearing it when we finally cark it. She never liked the business of raising 'child prodigies'. She wasn't impressed with what I did to Minato."

"You turned him into the Fourth Hokage, a man still respected and feared to this day," Sarutobi said. "There is no shame in that."

"Tell that to the survivors of the Bloodied Plains," Jiraiya said sombrely. "Don't get me wrong. I loved Minato. He was a fantastic shinobi, and a kind and gentle man. But what he did after Obito died, the hundreds he killed- that was the work of a monster."

"That was the work of somebody who did what needs to be done," Sarutobi rebuked none-too-gently. He turned, puffing on his pipe. "That is what a Hokage does. They do what needs to be done to protect their Village. Nothing more. Nothing less."

"And that includes raising a twelve year old boy into believe he's nothing more than a weapon for the village," Jiraiya observed. There was no accusation in his voice- it was just an observation.

"He _is_ a weapon," Sarutobi said. He took a deep breath. "As much as it pains me to say, Uzumaki Naruto is a sword of Konoha, ready to be plunged into our enemies. That is the nature of Jinchuuriki, the fate of the prodigy, the state of this world."

The Sannin let out a loud sigh.

"What a fucked up world we live in," he murmured.

Sarutobi smiled. "You have become very idealistic, Jiraiya," he said, and there was something like pride in his voice. But, then it hardened as the Hokage continued. "But this village cannot be run on idealism. It must be run through pragmatism and…"

"Pessimism?" Jiraiya interrupted. His face had taken on a hard look, his brow set into place and his jaw locked. "Our world will not change unless we change our attitudes."

"Our world has already changed," Sarutobi countered. He put down his pipe. "Nonetheless, this is not the time or the place to once again argue over this matter. Let us focus on more important things."

"Naruto." Jiraiya let out a deep sigh. "He's a mess, old man. You've been good for him, and you can get him to lighten up and express himself. But other than that, he clams up and runs his little 'quiet and polite' routine. From what I can tell, there's still a lot of stuff he's struggling to cope with, all the way back to the Blitz."

There was a long pause, only interrupted by the squawks of the birds as the sun continued its slow rise on the horizon. The sky was lightening, the stars fading away, and the sounds of businesses and workers stirring began to fill the village.

"Can you help him?" the Third Hokage asked after a moment.

"Maybe," Jiraiya shrugged. He chuckled. "He managed to plant his foot in my face the other day. Plus, I think he's really developing a taste for my book series…"

Sarutobi sighed, and closed his eyes in resignation. "It will be on your head if Tsunade finds out," he warned. "She's quite fond of the boy, you know. He gets on well with her."

"He's looks a lot like Nawaki," Jiraiya said quietly. "And he's the same age."

"Regardless, Naruto has done well in making the connections he has," Sarutobi said. He stroked his goatee. "He is a sword, yes, but one day he might become the banner."

"I thought that was your plan," Jiraiya admitted. He stood up, brushing off his pants. "When do you plan on retiring?"

"I would like to wait until Naruto is seventeen," Sarutobi admitted. He took a deep breath. "It's the same age I was appointed, so there is precedence. Naruto will need to keep growing in strength- but I do not worry about that. He has learned over thirty different techniques, and is proficient in all of them. His collaboration techniques are especially powerful, far beyond any other shinobi in the village. He has learned the first stage of the Titan Summoning Technique, he's developing his skills with the Dispel Technique, and has made good progress with his Jinchuuriki training. He will have the strength by then."

"Have you considered introducing him to Fuinjutsu?" Jiraiya asked curiously.

"He's done some rudimentary training in it, but it is not his strongest area." Sarutobi chuckled. "No offense intended for poor Naruto, but his intelligence does not extend far in that field. Still, I would like to show him some of the Second Hokage's Space-Time Techniques. Mastery over even one of them would be useful."

He stopped to take a puff on his pipe.

"What I truly worry about is his reputation," Sarutobi continued. "He is a Jinchuuriki. There is already stigma attached to the label, especially with the actions of the Fourth Mizukage- the only Jinchuuriki to be made a Kage. No, Naruto must be a known quantity. He has garnered much respect from the Village due to his role in the Blitz, true, but that will fade in time. He must be seen as the best choice."

Jiraiya didn't say anything. Then, he began to walk away. Before he left, however, he stopped and turned his head. "You've done a good job raising a soldier, and a sword, and somebody who could probably become Hokage one day," he admitted. "But don't forget that he's also a human- and a Jinchuuriki. You can't bind him to the village with duty alone. He needs bonds. My advice- you put him in a team and you send them out on some light missions. Let him mingle more with the other shinobi. Let them get to know him. It'll be good for him."

He left then, disappearing in a flash of movement, and leaving the Third Hokage on top of the monument with his thoughts. He continued to smoke his pipe, letting the cool morning breeze ruffle his robes. Jiraiya was right. Perhaps, when the Chunin Exams were done, he would look at combining the ANBU that Naruto had worked with during the Blitz. They seemed to mesh well, and they certainly regarded Naruto as somebody worthy of respect. Except- perhaps, this time, Naruto could take a leadership role.

He would need to become used to it, after all.

Sarutobi Hiruzen stood there alone, puffing on his pipe and plotting in preparation of times to come.

* * *

><p>The 30th International Chunin Exams were being hosted in Konoha, the Village Hidden in Leaves. The first and second stages had already been completed, and now people wide and far flocked to the village in order to watch the third and final stage. The third stage was being held in The Dome of the Regal Flame, a large arenastadium that had been built at the western edge of the village. It had come through the Blitz quite well, and had been spruced up preparation of the event. Currently, the stadium was full. Every seat had been filled, and the audience waited anxiously for the commencement of the Third Stage.

The arena was a large rectangle, two-hundred metres in length and one-hundred metres in width. Large, study walls scaled over the dusty ground, at least fifteen metres tall. Behind them were the first rows of seats. These lower levels circled the entire arena, dozens of rows for the common people. Merchants, civilians, trades people and locals filled this area, snacking on their foods and waiting restlessly. Beyond that were the more luxurious seats, the boxes and floors reserved for the wealthy and for those with status. The nobles sat there, dressed in their fine robes and holding their delicate, golden binoculars.

Above them were two boxes, built right at the very top of the stadium. Side-by-side, they contained the thrones for the Feudal Lords and the seats for the leaders of the Five Great Hidden Villages. The wall behind them had been covered with a giant white cloth, and the seats were currently emptied.

At that particular moment, Naruto was standing just in one of the passages leading into the arena. His heart was racing, it took time and some considerable effort to calm his nerves. He had done a lot of things for his village. He had fought. He had bled. He had killed. However, they had never made him speak out in front of so many people. There were thousands- and the very thought of it, strangely, was more terrifying than fighting against an S-rank. Still, he did his best to settle his nerves and reviewed his speech again. Then, he crumpled it up into a little ball, took a deep breath, and walked into the light.

The sun was blinding, and Naruto blinked, squinting against the glare. The audience, chatting and laughing loudly, began to whisper and mutter to each other as Naruto appeared in the arena. He ignored them, keeping his stride steady and focussed as he made his way to the centre. Clearing his throat, he turned on the microphone in his hands. He was acutely aware of the thousands of stares being directed his way as the noise began to dim and people stared down at him expectantly. Suddenly, the speech he had prepared was gone, and he swallowed nervously.

"Yo," Naruto greeted into the microphone.

Then, he resisted the urge to slap himself in the head. 'Yo'? Really? He was starting to sound like Kakashi. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes- and suddenly decided he didn't care. He was the one down here in the front, and he would say whatever the hell he wanted to.

Except, you know, anything that could be construed as sedition.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto," Naruto continued, and he found that he was unconsciously adopting the somewhat-slow drawl of his former captain, Hatake Kakashi. It was easier, actually, to fall back onto the mannerisms of somebody he knew didn't give a damn what people thought about him. "I'm the proctor, and this is 30th International Chunin Exams."

He paused. There was something else- ah.

"Everybody please rise for the Feudal Lords," Naruto commanded.

The sounds of scuffing feet and rustling fabric filled the stadium as the audience stood, and the final mutterings and chatter died. The stadium descended into silence as, somewhere in the background, some royal music began to play. From the loudspeaker came the sound of a stern, serious voice, introducing the foreign dignitaries and the Kage of the other villages.

"_From the Land of Lightning, escorted by A, Fourth Raikage of the Village Hidden in Clouds, we have Lord Takeda, of the Royal Court of Lightning."_

The Fourth Raikage appeared on the stadium. He was a large man, massive, somebody to rival Jiraiya. His white coat was opened in a casual display, revealing his thick, bulging muscles. He wore a gleaming belt of gold. Next to him stood a man barely half his size, a slender dark-skinned man wearing a pair of elegant glasses. He sported a small beared, and wore a loose fitting robe and a dark coloured cloak. The audience burst into applause- the visitors from the Land of Lightning prostrating from their spots in the crowd. The Fourth Raikage escorted him to his throne-like seat, and then once the Feudal Lord was seated, walked over and took his own seat on the neighbour balcony.

"_Next, from the Land of Wind, escorted by the 'The Golden Storm', the Fourth Kazekage of the Village Hidden in Sand, we have Lord Uesugi, of the Imperial Sovereignty of Wind."_

The Fourth Kazekage appeared. Dressed in the robes of the Kage, he was completely covered from head to toe. His blue and white robes fluttered as he walked behind the Lord Useugi, who wore a royal purple cloak over his robes, and covered his hat with a purple turban. He sported a small beard, and he looked displeased about something. The Kazekage did not seem particularly happy for his part either, however, and the two parted ways quickly.

"_From the Land of Earth, escorted by Onoki, the Third Tsuchikage of the Village Hidden in Rock, we have Lord Toyotomi, of the Manchu Dynasty."_

The Third Tsuchikage appeared, hovering, of all things, behind his Feudal Lord. He was a very short, old man with a triangular beard and a moustache. He had thick eyebrows, and he almost looked comical with his bald head and his big red nose. However, he was a Kage who had lived as long as the Third Hokage, one who had encountered the legends of Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara. He wore a green and yellow coat with a red collar, and it covered most of his body as he floated there. He hovered behind Lord Toyotomi, a man twice as tall, who sported a very prominent, grey beard and moustache. His eyes had dark marks underneath them, and he wore a tight fitting robe. He sat in his seat and the Tsuchikage floated to his own.

"_Lastly, from the Land of Fire, escorted by Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Hokage of the Village Hidden in Leaves, we have Lord Shirasagi, the White Heron of the Royal Court residing in the Land of Fire."_

If there crowds had been clapping politely before, now they exploded in raucous applause. The Third Hokage appeared, dressed in his red and white robes of the Kage, standing behind the Feudal Lord. The man was just like Naruto remember- tall, pasty, thin, and hidden behind his fan. Sarutobi led the man to his seat, and then took his own on the other balcony. As soon as he had left, there was a flicker of movement and two guards appeared behind each Feudal Lord. Naruto recognised the robes of the Twelve Guardians flanking the Fire Lord.

Naruto waited until some of the applause had died down, and then held up his hand. The crowd began to quieten as the attention was focussed back on him.

"The International Chunin Exams are held every six months," Naruto began. "Firstly, we are here to demonstrate the prowess of the shinobi villages to the people that they serve- you, the prospective clients and customers. You will see some outstanding feats today. Hand-to-hand combat and skills with the sword and the shield are things you may have seen before, but today you will see the exotic arts of the shinobi- of illusions and techniques that bring about fire and water and lightning. Watch these and remember, these powers are at your disposal."

Naruto paused, and took a deep breath.

"Secondly, we are here because of them!" He turned, and brandished his arm at the other side of the arena. In the time that the Feudal Lords had been seated, twelve genin had marched out onto the grounds and stood before the crowds. "They are the genin of the Hidden Villages, the upcoming shinobi who represent our best and our brightest. We are here to see if they are ready, to see if they have what it takes to gain the rank of Chunin. Let's give them a round of applause!"

The crowd exploded, roaring and yelling down encouragements- and sometimes booing. The genin stood there, sometimes shifting nervously on their feet. Naruto saw Konohamaru standing at the back, looking very small amidst his taller peers, and his lips twitched.

"Now," Naruto began, but the audience was too loud. He tapped on the microphone, and waited until they had quietened down. "Let's talk about the exams. This is the third and final stage of the exams. At the beginning, there were over one-hundred and fifty contenders. We are down to twelve. These are the best. Today, they will be fighting in a tournament, in a series of one-on-one battles. The genin have already been told who their opponents are, and they have had a month to prepare. Expect to see some cunning strategy in play here today, ladies and gentlemen." He paused. "However…"

He waited. The crowd quietened with anticipation. Naruto took a deep breath and smiled.

"However, Konoha has decided to do things a little differently this year," Naruto continued, his voice lowered. There were murmurs from the audience, and the genin themselves looked confused and anxious. "Chunin must be strong, they must be smart, and they must look underneath the underneath. Most importantly though, Chunin must be able to adapt to changing circumstances."

He let that sink in.

"Those that are set in their ways are destined to fail with them."

He looked at each genin in the eye. Some of them, like Gaara of the Sand, looked totally uninterested, arms folded and barely even registering the crowd. Others, like Uchiha Sasuke, stared back at him with determination. Then, Naruto looked back at the audience.

"Does everybody see the covered wall behind the seats of the Kage and the Feudal Lords?"

Thousands of heads and necks were turned and craned. At Naruto's cue, the piece of cloth covering the wall in the booth was pulled off, revealing a giant spinner. It was divided into five sections- each a different colour, and each bearing a symbol of one of the elements. Some of the crowd went 'ooh', while many others muttered in confusion. The Feudal Lords themselves looked intrigued. The Kage, who had been informed beforehand, had no reaction.

"On the spinner wheel that you see, there are five symbols," Naruto continued. "They are the symbols for the elements of water, fire, wind, earth and lightning. Before each match, that spinner will be spun, and the genin prospects will be battle in the conditions of that element."

Naruto turned to look at the genin, many who looked shocked.

"Genin," he called. "Are you ready?"

Some nodded, many merely hardened their faces.

"Audience, are you ready?"

The audience went wild, and Naruto gave a genuine smile.

"Then," he continued over the din, "Once the Feudal Lords have given their formal blessing, we'll start."

The crowd began to chant, a rising din that echoed through the stadium. The ground quivered as feet were stomped, hands slapped and arms waved. Naruto could feel the excitement of the crowd wash over him. His own heart was racing, his blood pumping, and he watched as large wooden frame was brought out before each of the Kage by a shinobi wearing white. A large, brass bell hung from the frame, and the first Feudal Lord picked up the striker.

He hit the bell, and a loud gong resonated throughout the arena. Then he passed it back to the shinobi in white, who bowed, and moved to the next Lord.

Another strike. Another gong.

And another.

And another.

As the last gong rung through the air the ground rumbled and all over Konoha, bells began to gong. There was a flash of light and the air was suddenly filled the lightning techniques, flashes of blue and purple and green, amidst as series of detonating explosive tags. Confetti rained down upon the audience, who surged and stamped and hollered with all of their might. Naruto lowered his microphone raised an arm.

"Barrier squads!" he yelled out.

All across the perimeter of the arena, squads of Konoha's Sealing Corp got into position. Twelve teams of five shinobi sat beneath their seals and channelled their chakra. Before the eyes of thousands, a transparent dome of blue light covered the top of the arena, leaving Naruto and the genin trapped inside. Once it was done, Naruto heaved a great sigh and turned to the genin. In a flicker of movement, he appeared before them.

"The rules are simple," said Naruto, his voice deadly serious. "Outside interference is strictly forbidden. You will fight your opponent one-on-one. The first one to be incapacitated will be eliminated. The use of deadly force is permitted- _however_, I will intervene if I decide that a fight's over, and there is a clear victor."

He paused. Then, he channelled his chakra, folding it back upon itself thrice, and let the resulting pressure explode from his tenketsu. The air around him suddenly shimmered, and the dirt and rock beneath his feet cracked. The genin gasped, many become frozen, others taking defensive stances. Naruto saw Sasuke tighten his fists and Gaara stare at him with wide, excited eyes.

"Let me be clear," Naruto continued. His face was blank, and he was sporting a polite smile, as if talking about the weather. "In this arena, I am the ultimate authority. It's not the Kage. It's not the Feudal Lords. It's me. Once I say a match is over, it's over. If I tell you to stop, you stop. If you don't…" He layered his chakra _five_ times- something painful, and it made his _tenketsu_ burn and his nerves scream in protest. None of it appeared on his face as he brought the new pressure down on the Genin. "If you don't stop, I'll _stop you myself_."

Then the pressure was gone. One of the genin had actually fallen, somebody from Taki, and he clambered back to his feet, his face pale.

"Please understand what I have just said," Naruto finished quietly. "Genin, back to your balcony."

The genin left and Naruto sighed. He was doing a lot of that today. He leapt back to the centre of the arena and turned the microphone on.

"We are about to begin," he called out. He pulled out a piece of paper and glanced down at it. "The first match will be Taka Kouhei of Iwa against Shou of Kumo. Genin, please stand in the designated circles."

The two genin appeared on either end of the arena. Shou was a tall, slender dark-skinned boy, older than Naruto by a few years. He had a series of spears strapped to his back, and he wore a metal buckler on his left wrist. Kouhei was about the same age. He was bulky though, with thick arms and squinty eyes. There was intelligence behind them though, and cunning. They stood there as Naruto turned to the Kage's booth.

"I invite each of the Feudal Lords to stand and spin the wheel, or send a representative to do so in your place," Naruto said. "As this is Lord Shirasagi's domain, it's only fitting that he has first spin."

The Fire Lord flapped his fan madly and practically leapt from his seat in excitement. He seemed to be giggling and he waved out to the crowd, who yelled and cheered in praise and adoration. He went up to the spinner and, in full view of the entire stadium, placed his hand on a spoke and spun it.

The wheel spun- as far as Naruto knew, it was unbiased- and after a few moments, it slowed and came to a rest on the red section. The symbol for fire stared back at him, and Naruto smiled.

"And it's fire," Naruto drawled. He eyed the Genin with a small smile. "That'll be _fun_ for you lot."

They didn't seem to think so, judging their faces. The crowd roared in expectation.

"Genin, do not move," the blond boy advised. "If you move, you might die."

He made a hand-seal and several shadow clones appeared around him. They darted away, towards the different groups of the Sealing Corp, who let them through the barrier. Then, they turned and each flipped through a series of hand-seals. Naruto did the same, and the air around the arena began to ripple. The ground rumbled and shuddered, little rocks rattling on the ground, and the crowd grew quite with anticipation.

They didn't have to wait long.

Before their eyes, the earth beneath the feet of the two genin rose. Both of the almost lost their balance, their eyes wide, as a large plateau rose beneath them, pushing them up towards the sky. Smaller columns of rock and stone also began to rise around them, some higher and some lower, until they all settled at least five metres off the ground, some much higher.

Then the next techniques took effect. The ground beneath the pillars cracked, and smoke and steam began to rise into the air. Under the guidance of the shadow clones, giant columns of flame rose up into the air with deafening roars. They circled all of the pillars, licking away at the earth harmlessly, sustained by the shadow clones at the perimeter of the arena. After a few moments, the entire arena seemed to be alight, although there was very little smoke rising into the air.

"And there's your fire," Naruto said. He felt a bit of enjoyment as the crowd, bedazzled and amazed, surged with movement, many of the spectators jumping out of their seats to crane their heads downwards for a better look. Naruto turned to the genin, who eyed the flames grimly.

"For the record, these flames, while hot, are not immediately fatal," Naruto said, much to the Kumo Genin's obvious relief. "If you fall into them, it's going to hurt- but it's definitely not something you have to rule out of any strategies or tactics you're thinking of. However, if you stay in them for too long, you_ will _die, so it's been decided that if any genin stays in the flames for more than ten seconds, I will call the match against you. Understand?"

Both genin nodded.

"Genin, fight!"

Kouhei, the Iwa-Nin immediately clapped his hands together. Then, he slammed his hands in the ground. With a grunt, exertion visible on his face, the Iwa-Nin pulled back his burly hands from the earth, and as they came out, Naruto could see that they were covered in stone. With a nasty grin, Kouhei flexed his muscles and with a sudden 'whoosh', small, hooked spikes shot out from all around the gauntlet of rock.

An interesting earth-technique, Naruto thought to himself. He stood on one of the taller, narrower pillars, staring down at the genin intently, ignoring the cries and yells of the crowd. As he watched Kouhei take a running leap over the flames and onto the plateau where the Kumo-Nin stood, his mind was already tearing apart that technique and coming up with ways to counter it- just in case.

Shou, the Kumo-Nin, darted backwards as Kouhei advanced and he skilfully avoided the first swipe. The Iwa-Nin was twice as big as him and looked to be far stronger, but with his bulky frame it would have been easy to assume that Kouhei was slow. He was not. He darted around Shou in a flurry of hand-to-hand combat, handling the undoubtedly heavy gauntlets around his hands as if they were boxing gloves. After a few moments, Shou grunted as Kouhei landed a devastating punch to his stomach, and he collapsed to the ground.

Naruto stood there, and he did not call the match.

A moment later, Kouhei spun around and hunched up, bringing his gauntlets to shield his face as the Shou's crumpled form exploded in a puff of smoke. Using the body-switch technique to escape to the other plateau, Shou snatched one of the spears off of his back and hurled it forward with great speed. The whistling in the air had given it away, however, and Kouhei successfully blocked it with his rocky gauntlets.

Shou was undeterred, however, and continued hurling his spears. Each one was blocked, landing uselessly on the ground as Kouhei advanced, undeterred. It wasn't a bad strategy for Shou- make some distance and pelt the enemies with weapons- but there were only so many spears one could strap to a body, and the Kumo-Nin had soon run out except the one in his hands.

Then, unexpectedly, Shou took running and leapt off over the flickering flames. He landed in a crouch, spear ready, and met Kouhei on with an elegant twirl. Kouhei batted it away with his hands, but Shou spun around him, slashing at him again and again with surprising ferocity. For few moments, it seemed like Kouhei was being forced backwards. Then, the Iwa-Nin spotted an opening and he raised his hands. There was a loud crack and suddenly the rocky gauntlets exploded outwards, bombarding the other genin with a shower of sharp debris. Shou was struck several times, hissing in pain. He planted his spear in the ground and jumped back as Kouhei slammed his hands back into the earth, creating another set of gauntlets for him.

"Ah," Naruto murmured to himself, his voice lost over the din around him. So that was what the Kumo-Nin had apparently intended all along. He smiled. "I see."

Shou had landed on his feet, apparently defenceless now that he had lost his last weapon- but his hands were flying through a set of hand seals and as Kouhei stood, wielding a brand new set of rocky gauntlets, the Kumo-Nin finished his technique. To Kouhei's obvious horror, he suddenly realised that he was standing in the middle of a circle created by Shou's fallen spears- and they were beginning to crackle and spark. There was a sudden pause as Kouhei froze, and the then, in a flash of lightning and a boom that sounded like thunder, electric bolts surged off the hafts of each of the spears and slammed into him.

Kouhei writhed on his feet, the earth elemental chakra in his gauntlets cracking and breaking apart underneath the power of the lightning technique. Shou kept it up, his hands frozen in place on the serpent-seal. So focussed upon his target, he did not see the ground behind him cracking- but then Kouhei jumped up out of it, just as the earth-clone crumbled apart, the illusion fading.

Shou didn't stand a chance. Kouhei swung a meaty fist and struck the slender dark-skinned boy off of his feet. The crowd surged, but a loud 'ooh' rose up as the Kumo-Nin fell into the fiery pits surrounding the pillars of rock. Naruto was staring intently, and he began counting. Kouhei was also waiting, his squinty eyes darting around the arena, not letting his guard down.

When Naruto reached ten, he made a hand-seal.

_Dispel!_

The fires around them were extinguished in a heartbeat, revealing blackened soil and a rather charred, unconscious genin lying on the ground. Naruto turned on the microphone, tapped it several times and bought it up to his face.

"Winner, Kouhei of Iwa!" He called.

Kouhei pumped his fists into the air, revelling in the applause and the praise, while Naruto jumped down to check on Shou. The boy had a nasty gash on his head- Naruto was sure he could see traces of bone underneath the blood- and he signalled for the medical squad to come and take him away. Then, as Kouhei left the arena, and made a hand-seal and dispelled the giant pillars of earth. They collapsed into a pile of dust.

"Will Kankuro of the Sand and Konohamaru of the Leaf enter the arena?" Naruto called out.

The two genin arrived, and they stood on scorched, barren ground, eying each other. Konohamaru was trying to look intimidating, but Naruto had to stifle a laugh at how badly he was failing at it. Kankuro didn't seem to be very threatened, either. The taller teenager was eying the eight-year-old boy with disdain, shaking his head and muttering to himself. Naruto watched on, feeling a flicker of concern.

Then, it was the Earth Lord's turn to stand up and spin the wheel. He did so, and the audience watched as the spinner span round and round, finally coming to a stop on the blue section.

"And that makes water!" Naruto called out.

Good. Water was scarce in the Land of Wind, so Konohamaru would probably have more experience dealing with enemies around water, especially taking his mission to the Land of Waves into account. Kankuro, on the other hand, would have limited experience- but that didn't mean he would be useless. Naruto created some new shadows clones, and together they performed the techniques.

The ground beneath Kankuro and Konohamaru rose, pushing them above the arena floor, while at the same time, a gushing tide of water exploded from a series of buckets of water, riding from the edge of the arena and surging in to fill the gaps between the plateaus. It was much like how the fire arena had been, except there were a lot more tactical options with water than flame.

Naruto raised his hand. "Genin, fight!" He shouted, bringing it down.

Konohamaru was immediately on the offensive. His hands flipped into a series of signs, his chest bulged, and he spat out a searing ball of flame. It tore through the ground and soared over the water, which boiled and hissed as the fireball passed. Kankuro dodged it, and moved forward, coming in closer for hand-to-hand combat. It was a good strategy, especially considering the obvious height and strength advantage that the Suna-Nin had over the young boy.

However, Konohamaru hadn't been wasting his time over the past month and Naruto was surprised as the young Sarutobi brat dodged and evaded each of the hits. He was certainly more agile, but he lacked raw strength. Some of his hits even landed on the Suna-Nin, but they didn't look like they hurt much. Finally, Konohamaru was able to disengage and he jumped back, throwing a fistful of shuriken to cover his escape. It was only meant to be a diversionary tactic, but to the young boy's obvious surprise the shuriken caught Kankuro in the chest. The boy looked briefly stunned behind his face-paint and, gargling and choking, he fell to the ground on one hand, breathing noisily.

Konohamaru was frowning, and the boy glanced up at him, but Naruto refused to acknowledge him and kept on watching stonily, his arms folded.

The young Sarutobi cautiously approached the fallen Suna-Nin, a kunai in hand. Naruto wanted to shake his head- the brat should have kept pelting the Suna-Nin with weapons until he fell, but Konohamaru hadn't seen through the act- or the switch. Naruto wasn't surprised when Konohamaru gave an involuntary shriek as 'Kankuro' suddenly lunged at him. The creaking, unreeving puppet was quick to strike, a large, pointed spike shooting out from its mouth. It was only by luck that Konohamaru managed to avoid it, tripping over his long scarf at the last second as he staggered back. An instant later, a chest plate on the puppet opened and senbon zipped through the air. Konohamaru rolled over- the senbon striking where he had been half-a-second later- and palmed a couple of spheres.

There was a flash of light as the smokebombs detonated and the puppet paused in its movements. Konohamaru took the time to roll into the water and disappeared underneath the surface. Naruto let out a breath he hadn't know he was holding and uncrossed his arms. Kankuro had come out of hiding know, throwing off a blanket that he blended in with the earth around him and standing up. Even Naruto was impressed- the boy had somehow managed to put an illusion on his puppet that had fooled even him for a few moments.

The smoke drifted away just as Konohamaru climbed out of the water on the other side of the arena, panting. He staggered to his teeth, drenched, and looked over his shoulder, glaring. Kankuro was shaking his head.

"Give up," he called out. "I really don't want to go home saying I belted up a little kid."

"Why don't you give up?" Konohamaru shouted. He rubbed a bloodied lip that he must have gotten when falling, and gave the other boy a cocky grin. "I'm Sarutobi Konohamaru, and I don't give up."

"Fine," Kankuro sighed. He moved his hands and the puppet came to life, rattling loudly as its disjointed limbs flayed about around it. "Just remember that I gave you a chance."

"You're the one who needed the chance!" Konohamaru shouted, and he sped through some hand-seals.

Naruto's eyes widened. No way. Sarutobi couldn't have let that little brat…

"Summoning Technique!" Konohamaru cried, slamming his hand on the ground.

There was a puff of smoke and a monkey appeared, no larger than Konohamaru himself.

"A monkey?" Naruto heard Kankuro mutter to himself.

It chittered for a few moments, gazing around the arena, and then turned to Konohamaru.

"What's up, bro?" it said in a somewhat-squeaky voice. "What'chya doing? Where are we? Is it fun? How can I help? Ooh, is that water? Why is there water? Are we going swimming?"

"This is the Chunin Exams," Konohamaru said determinedly. "And I need you to help me do 'that' move."

The monkey cocked its head. "Sure," it said cheerfully. "Are you ready now?"

"Hang on a sec," Konohamaru said. He made some more hand-seals and slammed his hand down on the ground.

From the earth rose a small wall of rock, clearing the top of Konohamaru's head by no more than a foot. It was a lacklustre technique, but the fact that Konohamaru had demonstrated the ability to use _two_ different elemental types at his age was impressive.

"What are you doing?" Naruto murmured to himself, his eyes narrowed.

Kankuro had moved his puppet, and it was firing a hail of senbon and kunai from various compartments from the other side of the arena. The wall blocked them all, but it was already cracking underneath the bombardment. Then, the monkey grabbed Konohamaru up by the leg and began to spin him around.

Naruto stared. "What?" He deadpanned.

Konohamaru was spun faster and faster until he became no more than a blur of blue scarf and green jacket. Naruto's mouth was visibly open, and he stared at the scene incredulously. What the hell was that? From his side of the arena, Kankuro couldn't see anything- and as such, had no idea what was going on.

"G-Go!" Konohamaru managed to shout.

The events happened in an instant. The monkey let go of Konohamaru and disappeared in a puff of smoke- a transformation technique. There was a puff of smoke around Konohamaru's head a second later- Naruto caught a glimpse of a strange, somewhat-antiquated metal helmet before the boy slammed into the wall of earth- and _broke through it_!

"What the…?" Kankuro said.

All the Suna-Nin saw was an extremely fast blur shooting at him. He raised his hands to move his puppet, but the stream slammed into it and the puppet shattered under the force of the blow. Wooden shards rained to the ground, the puppet falling to useless pieces. An instant later, Konohamaru slammed into Kankuro was an audible 'crunch'. The Suna-Nin was sent flying under the force of the powerful blow and was sent spinning into the arena wall. He slammed into it, the stone around him cracking and splintering, and fell to the ground.

Konohamaru picked himself up from where he had fallen after striking Kankuro, looking extremely nauseous. He burped, and hiccup.

"Did we get him?" He slurred.

On his head, an eye appeared on the helmet.

"We totally got him!" the transformed monkey squealed.

"Awesome," Konohamaru said woozily.

Naruto closed his mouth and went to check on Kankuro. The boy was knocked out cold, and despite the hilarity and stupidity of the move, a blow with an adamantium helmet had no doubt caused some serious internal injuries. He waved over the medical squad, shaking his head in wonder.

"Winner, Konohamaru of Konoha," he called out.

The audience had been silent ever since Konohamaru had unleashed his move. There was a beat after Naruto's announcement, and then they exploded in a roar of laughter and cheers. Konohamaru beamed, scratching the back of his head even as he kept swaying on his feet. The shock to his head probably hadn't done his brain-cells any good, but Naruto wryly thought that the boy probably lacked a little in that department anyway.

"Right. The next match is between Sasuke of Konoha and Yuzu of Iwa." Naruto called out amidst the laughter, still shaking his head in bemusement.

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><p>The rest of the fights in the Round 1 were fairly simple for the most part, and did not last long. Uchiha Sasuke completed dominated his opponent, his sharingan seeing through the enemy's genjutsu immediately. It was a bad match-up for the Iwa-Nin, and although the girl tried a series of smoke bombs to shield herself from the sharingan's gaze, the arena of 'wind' saw that strategy literally blown away. The forceful gales made it almost impossible for her to navigate, but Sasuke could see the currents and eddies and knew where to go. Before the Iwa-Nin could make a play for it underground, Uchiha Sasuke had slipped behind her and placed a kunai at the edge of her neck. She had spun around to retaliate- but then Naruto had called the match in Sasuke's favour.<p>

The round after that saw Hyuuga Neji pitted against a Kumo-Nin. Naruto knew of the history of the between Kumo and the Hyuuga clan, and was not surprised to see Neji arrive with his jaw locked and his face set with stony, cold fury. It was shorter than the last fight. The arena had been locked with on 'Earth', and large spikes jutted from the ground all over the place. Precise footing was essential here- but in the end, it didn't matter much. The Kumo-Nin had not accounted for Neji's speed, and was unprepared when the Hyuuga had surged forward. The next few moments would see Neji brutally dismantle the Kumo-Nin with his powerful _Jyuken_, finger taps slamming into every vital area and sending the poor boy to the ground, twitching and moaning.

The second-last fight of the round saw a shinobi from the new Hidden Village of Sound take on a genin from Kusa amidst a sea of fire. Zaku from Oto was a spiky-haired boy with a mean smirk and a strange metal contraption on his arm. The Grass-Nin was armed with a spiked club and muscles that seemed to suggest he knew how to swing it, but all it took from Zaku was a single blow to destroy the Grass-Nin's defence. Even as the punch missed, the Grass-Nin staggered as it he had received the blow. He seemed to be struggling to stay on his feet, and a second punch to the stomach saw him blasted back as if Zaku possessed the strength of Tsunade. It was an interesting use of elemental chakra, and a useful weapon. However, a moment later, Zaku staggered, and collapsed. The spiked-club that the Kusa-Nin had been wielding had split open, and form it had come a billowing cloud of haze. The poison must have been potent, because Zaku was down almost immediately- and in the end, the match was concluded as a draw.

It was the last fight in Round 1 that Naruto was forced to intervene. The wheel had been and the needle had settled on lightning. Naruto had created a series of '_Four Pillar Bind'_ and lightning crackled and lashed out through the air as randomly as the blond ANBU could make it. It didn't seem to make a difference for Gaara, whose quick-moving sand spun around him in an never-ending circle, sizzling as they blocked multitudes of low-voltage strikes. The Taki-Nin was not as adapt at blocking, and suffered a series of small shocks, forcing him back. He had come to the fight with an entire reel of explosive tags, intending to break through Gaara's sand with pure force. It was to no avail, however, as Gaara's supply of never-ending sand simply swallowed the explosions with ease.

In the end, the Taki-Nin found that he was surrounding by Sand, and moved to escape. Gaara's bored expression had given away to a mad grin, and there was a disturbing glint in his eyes. Naruto watched stonily as the Taki-Nin failed to escape from all of the sand, a tendril shooting up his arm and grabbing him. Gaara made clenched his fist and the Taki-Nin screamed. The audience let out a 'ooh', and Naruto saw many of them wince as the Taki-Nin's arm disappeared underneath a volume of sound and a spray of blood.

The winner was clear.

"This match is over," Naruto called. "Winner, Gaara of…"

Naruto was cut off as Gaara continued to fight. His grin was truly demented now, his nostrils flaring, his pupils dilated. He spun his hands around, circling the boy with a cocoon of sand, and began to clench his hand.

A boom resonated through the arena. Gaara jerked as all around him, the pillars of lightning glowed with maximum capacity. Then, thunder boomed, and lightning flashed. The pillars were unrelenting, shooting searing blots of bluish and purplish lightning all around Gaara. Sand rose to meet it, but unlike before it was visible pushed back, hissing and spluttering as the electricity pierced through it. At the same time, there was a flicker of movement as Naruto appeared before the Sand-Nin, the Taki-Nin held over his shoulder and his blue eyes burning with a cold fire. He raised a hand and the shadow clones paused in their barrage.

Gaara was panting, practically salivating, and there was a flash of foul, hideous chakra. The ground around him was scorched and broken, the barrage of countless strikes of lightning having torn it to pieces. Despite the assault, Naruto had not truly aimed at Sand's Jinchuuriki, but his chakra was surging and he projected a tremendous force down on Gaara.

"I said that the match was over," Naruto said quietly, even as the audience muttered and talked to each other in hushed whispers. He locked eyes with Gaara, the Taki-Nin stirring on his shoulder. "If you do that again, I'll disqualify you. Do you understand?"

Gaara opened his mouth to reply, but then a grimace crossed his face. His hand came up, clutching at his head and the tattoo that had been grafted into his skin. He shuddered, nostrils flaring, giggling oddly, and then became still.

"I… understand," he replied between gritted teeth. Then he turned around muttering under his breath. "Soon mother…soon… patience… there'll be more…"

Naruto watched him go, barely aware of the white-robed medical squad coming to take the injured genin from him. His mind flashed back to the sewer he had once walked into, of the leaky pipes and the dark crevice that led to those rattling chains. If Gaara was anything like him, then Naruto knew exactly why he was clutching his head. In a way, he was sympathetic. Regardless, it was obvious that Sand's Jinchuuriki was dangerous, and barely in control. How the Fourth Kazekage had lost control of his own weapon, Naruto couldn't understand. Still, it didn't matter.

If it came down to it, Naruto would put that rabid dog down.

He took a deep breath, and then turned back to the audience. He dispelled the countless four-pillar binds and reached for his microphone.

"The first round of the Chunin Exams is over," he said. "Round 2 will begin in half-an-hour."


	30. The Chunin Exams: Part II

**A/N: I've estimated that Konoha is about 60 years old. I can't find a definite date. However, Hiruzen was alive at the same time as the First Hokage, and my understanding is that the Hashirama died either after the battle with Madara or very close to the start of the First War. Perhaps the manga will shed some light on that. Regardless, if Sarutobi is in his late sixties, then for him to remember the First Hokage, it means that it really couldn't have been no more than sixty years ago.**

**Or who knows. Maybe I'm breaking canon. I don't really care. **

**So I start work in two days- and I really only have one and a half days of writing left. I'll try to keep it up after work, but it's gonna be a lot longer. Nonetheless, I'll try to keep a regular schedule. If I can pop a chapter out once every five days, that'd work for me- maybe even two a week. That is, until I hit a tricky part- then I'll inevitably get stuck.**

**Also- you guys rock! I just did a little calculating and figured out that this story has reached a 1:100 review/word ratio. For every hundred words, I have one review. I've never had that before. Cheers for your nice- and sometimes not-so-nice- reviews.**

**One final note- I know that the Fourth Kazekage here hasn't been given a name even though everybody else has. I can't find one for him, nor can I find a surname for him or any of the Sand Siblings. If anybody knows, I'd much appreciate it.  
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><p>Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Hokage, stood behind the Fire Lord, clad in the ceremonial red and white robes of his position. His hands clasped behind him, he waited, flanked by two members of the Jonin Guard and two members of the Twelve Guardians. The latter hovered around the Fire Lord, trusting nobody with the safety of the Fire Lord other than themselves.<p>

They were standing in a small alcove, just behind the booth that would overlook the Arena of the Regal Flame. The large colosseum saw a variety of events, from travelling circuses and musical shows to shinobi competitions such as the Chunin Exams. Hiruzen could hear the laughter and shouts of the crowd as they waited for the Chunin Exams to begin, and he smiled wryly.

There was no doubting that Namikaze Minato had truly been a prodigy in the shinobi arts, but the very concept of the Chunin Exams had been genius, even for him. Thirty exams later, and it was a practise that had truly established itself throughout the world- and one that had bought the shinobi and civilian populations closer together.

That boy had always been idealistic, and although war had tempered much of the idealism into pragmatism, Jiraiya's influence had run strong through him. It was such a shame that Konoha- and the world- would never see Minato pursue his dream.

It would have either saved of the world- or have destroyed it completely.

A tapping noise filled the air as somebody tested the microphone. Hiruzen turned his head to the entrance to the booth. So, it was beginning. He had prepared Naruto for his role by producing a script. All the boy had to do was follow it, and-

"Yo."

Hiruzen shook his head and sighed at the drawled introduction. How lacklustre. Nonetheless, the noise of the crowd died down, and the Hokage knew that soon the Lords of the Great Countries would be called out, along with their Kage trotting after them like trained pets.

It was a symbolic gesture- and little more- a way for the Feudal Lords feel better by showing the crowd who's the boss. A hundred-years ago, that would have been true, but now, in the age of the Great Villages, it was perhaps not nearly as accurate as the Fuedal Lords would have liked.

Nonetheless, Hiruzen would take the intentional slight with good humour. After all, the current Fire Lord was nowhere near as bad as his father had been- especially towards the end of his reign. Ten years in his reign has also showed him the importance of having a good, strong Hidden Village.

Not like the Wind Lord. That affair was entirely disgraceful, and worse, politically volatile. To have a Feudal Lord boycott his own Hidden Village- that was just trouble waiting to happen. Sunagakure was too big a power to continue to put up with that type of treatment forever.

No, something would have to be done. Perhaps, after the exams, he would invite the Fourth Kazekage for a cup of tea and a good, long talk.

"_Lastly, from the Land of Fire, escorted by Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Hokage of the Village Hidden in Leaves, we have Lord Shirasagi, the White Heron of the Royal Court residing in the Land of Fire."_

Ah. It was time. The Fire Lord stopped his quiet conversation with one of his aides and drew himself up. Then, fan waving idly in one hand, he stepped out past the curtain and onto the booth. Hiruzen followed after him as a symbolic guard, even as the real guards followed after them. Then, as Lord Shirasagi sat down, Hiruzen turned and made his way to the set of seats on the other side of the booth where the rest of the Kage sat. He took the chair at the end and sunk into it.

Next to him, the Third Tsuchikage was scowling as he sat down. The seat was entirely too big for the diminutive Kage. Hiruzen smiled and clicked his fingers. A second later, a messenger appeared, kneeling before him. Ignoring the tensing of the Kage's guard, Hiruzen knelt down and whispered something in the messenger's ear. Then he sat back as the messenger disappeared.

A moment later, the messenger reappeared, and he carried a pile of cushions with him. The Third Tsuchikage's scowl faded and he turned his head, eying the Hokage with narrowed eyes.

Once upon a time, Onoki would have taken that as a grave insult. It would have been a slight that The Fence Sitter would not have forgotten, and there would have been retribution. It may have come a day, a week, months or years later- but it would have come.

But the Third Tsuchikage was an old man. He merely grumbled about his bad hip and gestured for his guards. They checked the cushions, ensuring they were not trapped, and then stacked them on the seat. Onoki sat down on them and, now sitting at the same height as Hiruzen, gave the Hokage a slight nod.

Oh. How the times had changed, Hiruzen reflected rather fondly. For the Third Hokage to be seated next to the Third Tsuchikage, his greatest enemy and the man he could quite say he had once hated the most- it was extraordinary. Onoki and Hiruzen had always had a rather tumultuous relationship. Both had ascended to seat of Kage during the First Great Shinobi War. The Second Tsuchikage had gone down fighting, taking with him the Second Mizukage, and the Second Hokage had been caught in an ambush, sacrificing himself to save his squad- a squad that had included Hiruzen- and also taking with him the Second Raikage.

Onoki and Hiruzen had met in the Second Great War. That had been bitter rivals, legends in their own right. The lethal dust-techniques of the Tsuchikage had killed countless Leaf-Nin, entire squadrons- and Sarutobi truly did not know how many men and women who wore the Iwa-headband he himself had killed.

They were the pillars of the old world, those who remembered the times before the Hidden Villages had come into existence. They were the longest serving Kage. They were legends. They were men who seen war and battle, blood and death, pain and fire, and had come out of it stronger and harder.

But time was the best teacher, and had a way of putting out the smouldering flames of hatred, Hiruzen reflected. He withdrew his pipe, igniting the end with a delicate use of chakra, and puffed on it. These days, it was far too hard to ignore the similarities that between them. They were two sides of the same coin, fighting to protect the one thing that they loved the most.

"His chakra capacity must be large to sustain such a technique," the Fourth Kazekage spoke up. He was hidden behind his veil, his eyes narrowed as they focussed on the young, blond boy. "What an interesting young man."

Hiruzen refocussed his eyes, noting that Naruto had created his shadow clones to sustain the fire techniques he was using in the arena. His lips twitched, and he said nothing.

Onoki snorted. "So that's your dog, then?" he asked gruffly, but with no hostility. He watched Naruto for a few more moments and nodded. "You've raised him well."

Hiruzen knew that the Tsuchikage meant no insult, but he felt a pang of regret. Yes, Naruto truly was his dog, well-trained and obedient, willing to follow orders and do whatever he was told. Compared to the truly horrible things he had done for Konoha, however, Naruto was only a small pebble that weighed down his shoulders.

The crowd below laughed and cheered as the Iwa-Nin and Kumo-Nin began to battle, revelling in the sight of the shinobi arts put on display.

"Your genin performed that earth technique well," Hiruzen complimented. He blew a smoke ring, throwing a glance at Onoki from the corner of his eye. "And he's quite fast."

Onoki grunted and scratched at his bulbous nose. "He's a way to go yet," he said gruffly. "The talent seems to grow less every generation. The young'ns have become soft- not like we were."

"Ah, well, perhaps it's better that way," Hiruzen said with a sigh. He smiled somewhat bitterly. "We who remember the First Shinobi War should never want such an era to return."

Onoki grunted again, and made no comment. Next to him, the Fourth Raikage watched the proceedings with a bored expression on his face. He rested a mighty arm on the armrest, his head propped up by his hand as he watched his genin hurl spear after spear at the Iwa-Nin. Sarutobi had never met this man before, but he knew Namikaze Minato had had encounters with him during the Third Shinobi War, and Konoha's Department of Intelligence had drawn up a character profile.

It did not bode well for Konoha.

The Fourth Raikage was a shrewd man concerned with the image of his village. He cared for power and status. The militarisation of Kumo under his reign had caused considerable tension amongst the Great Villages. Kumo fielded an army larger than any single village, and they were aggressive in their policies.

It worried Hiruzen. The Third Hokage was sure that it worried Onoki too. Both men were old enough to have seen the consequence of men such as A in charge of armies.

"What?" A roared out as the Kumo genin was blind-sided from behind. HE clenched his fists and brought them down on the armrest of his chair. The chair groaned, cracks appearing on the surface, but A paid no attention. "That idiot! Always watch your back!"

"Well played, Tsuchikage," the Fourth Kazekage murmured from behind his veil. Only his eyes were visible, a few strands of red hair peeking down from behind his turban. "Your genin has skill. I would approve of his nomination."

Hiruzen murmured his assent as well. Onoki scoffed, but he looked pleased as he rubbed his hands together. The Raikage just grumbled something under his breath, shaking his head.

Naruto called out the winner, his young voice booming out from the speakers. Hiruzen's face twitched into a smile as he saw the blond make a hand-seal and Onoki peered forward as the roaring flames around the arena floor were extinguished.

"Oh?" the Third Tsuchikage grunted. "Was that- it was, wasn't it?" He cast a knowing glance at Hiruzen. "You've certainly been busy, haven't you? I recognise that particular technique. You were quite the pain with it, if I recall correctly."

The Kazekage and Raikage had not immediately made the connection between the technique and the Hokage- which was understandable. Hiruzen had rarely taken to the battlefield during the era of warfare those two had been part, and when he had, there had been other, more visible and potent techniques that would have most definitely been recorded.

"My thanks for your compliment, old friend," Hiruzen responded.

The Tsuchikage snorted. "Old friend, he says," he muttered. "All those times we attempted to kill each other…"

"Ah, I apologise," Hiruzen answered. He raised an eyebrow. "Shall I refer to you as a toad-faced, dumpy fool instead?"

Onoki snorted in amusement. "You decrepit, murderous scum," he replied with no real anger. The Third Tsuchikage let out a deep breath. "Those were the times, that Second Great War of ours."

Hiruzen felt a ghost of a smile cross his face. They had been interesting times. Iwa's advance through the bordering countries towards Konoha had been countered by a series of guerrilla attacks. Squads of highly-trained, elite shinobi had thwarted Iwa's First Division on four occasions, prompting the Third Tsuchikage to take the field himself, crippling Konoha's resistance. Hiruzen had met Onoki on the coast near Takigakure, and a terrible battle had raged. The Third Hokage had countered many of Onoki's earth techniques with his own. He had withdrawn the Titan to deal with a Level-4 Summon, and then gone toe-to-toe against Onoki as the Tsuchikage used his Dust Elemental Techniques with devastating effect.

The landscape had changed. Large chunks of mountains were torn apart. Entire tracts of forests had disappeared. Plains had been flooded, and an entire island was sunk beneath the ocean. In the end, the God of Shinobi had forced the Tsuchikage off the field with a devastating blow from his personal summon, Enma, and had led the remainder of Konoha's ANBU in completely routing the remainder of Iwa's First Division.

It had been this climactic battle that had seen Iwa's Fourth Division advance into the Land of Rain, only to be met by Konoha's Second Division, led by his students. Then the last Pillar of the Old World had become personally involved- and that entire mess had been a slaughter for all three sides. Only the shinobi who would become known as the Sannin survived. Two-thousand other shinobi were left to rot on the Plains of Sorrow, their bones still where they fell.

Oh yes. They had been the times. As terrible as they had been, it had been an age of war, one that had seen the rise and fall of many great warriors. They had learned from the bloodbath that had been the First Shinobi War. Combat on a large scale had evolved. Doctrine had been set. Tactics revised. It had been a testing ground to see which shinobi village had learnt the most from the previous war- and in the end, that village had been Konoha.

The Fourth Kazekage cleared his throat, breaking Hiruzen out of his thoughts, and gestured down at the arena.

"Is that your grandson?" he inquired politely.

"It is," Hiruzen said with a touch of pride. He watched his foolish young grandson walk onto the field, hardly the most intimidating sight. "I must admit, I am eager to see how Konohamaru stands up against your progeny, Kazekage-dono."

"Kankuro is skilled," the Kazekage warned. There was a hint of warmth as he stared down at his oldest son. "His skill in puppetry will soon be greater than that of any shinobi in the world."

"Unless Sasori of the Bloody Sand comes back," the Fourth Raikage cut in. The Kazekage straightened his shoulders at the remark, eying the dark-skinned man with a coolness that had not been there before.

Understandable. Sasori had been an S-ranked shinobi before the Third Shinobi War, granted the rank at a young age for his legendary abilities in the art of puppetry. Nobody knew why he had abandoned his village, although the fact that it had coincided with the disappearance of the Third Kazekage had not gone unnoticed. As a missing-nin, he had singlehandedly been responsible for the death of an entire platoon of Konoha's ANBU- a squad that had been tasked with the assassination of his grandmother, and an act that had earned him the moniker 'The Bloody Sands'. Then he had disappeared, and nobody had seen him since.

Hiruzen watched as Konohamaru evaded Kankuro's blows, although he saw how the older boy had already replaced himself with his puppet, using a very clever illusion to trick Konohamaru into thinking that he was still fighting the real him. He puffed on his pipe, even as his fingers momentarily tightened around his armrest as Konohamaru was lured towards the puppet, only escaping death via an accident- he was always tripping over that scarf of his.

It was with pride, and the loose of a chuckle that had built up, that he watched Konohamaru use his head- literally- to smash his way through the puppet, slamming into Kankuro and ending the match in a victory.

"That was an interesting strategy," the Fourth Kazekage said after a few moments. He sounded quite bewildered, actually. "I suppose I should scold Kankuro for not expecting the unexpected, but that was truly a tactic that not even I saw coming."

Onoki was openly chortling. "The boy has a head as hard as his grandfather!" the Tsuchikage laughed.

"Amateurish tactics," A criticised. However, there was a sharp look in his eyes. "Yet the boy showed some talent. He's good on his feet, moves quickly, and he has those summoning skills and elemental techniques under his belt." He eyed the Hokage. "Heh. He might turn out to be just as infamous as his grandfather."

"Time will tell," Hiruzen murmured. He did not appreciate A's apparent interest in his grandson. He slid the hat lower on his head, and puffed on his pipe.

Uchiha Sasuke's fight against the Iwa-Nin was over before it had truly begun. Onoki was shaking his head in disgust as the howling winds blew out around the arena. For a girl who had planned to use smoke bombs to negate the sharingan, it was truly a bad terrain to fight in. That was the point, however, and even Onoki could see that.

The rest of the fights went quickly. Hiruzen had to supress a smile as Hyuuga Neji brutally destroyed his opponent, the Kumo-Nin never standing a chance against a Hyuuga with a chip on his shoulder. For a clan of shinobi who prided themselves on their emotional control, Hiruzen had never met a group of people who could hold a grudge like the Hyuuga Clan could.

When the last male of childbearing age of the Senju clan was assassinated during the Second Great War, it had been the Hyuuga who had reaped a bloodied vengeance against Kiri. For a time, it seemed as if the clan had left Konoha and the compound stood mostly empty. The Hyuuga had returned, however, dirty, bloodied and grim- and carrying the heads of than three of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, including the assassin himself.

"He seems rather angry," Onoki observed. He shot a glance at A, a smirk that looked more like a grimace on his face. "I wouldn't want to be a Kumo-Nin when there's a member of the Hyuuga Clan in front of me."

A scoffed, waving it off with one big, muscled hand. He had been the one responsible for the abduction attempt on Hyuuga Hinata- and he had been the one who had pressed for the body of Hyuuga Hiashi. Hiruzen took a deep breath and, as he eyed the Fourth Raikage, sudden clarity struck him, something he had always known just made so obviously apparent.

There would be a war. Perhaps not tomorrow, but Kumo and Konoha, at some point, would clash.

Hiruzen truly hoped it was after he died. Let it be another Hokage's problem. Then, if all went to plan, did he truly want to lay that burden at Naruto's feet?

The Third Hokage let that thought settle down for another time, and he focussed back on the Chunin Exams. The shinobi from the new Village Hidden in Sound performed adequately, and Hiruzen noted the strange contraption on the boy's arm. What an interesting device, to allow a genin access to powerful wind chakra, well, that was something that could be useful. He made a mental note to make an attempt to acquire that technology at some point in the future.

The last match with Gaara of the Sand, however, proved to be most interesting. The Fourth Kazekage watched indifferently as his son toyed with his opponent for a few moments, and then grasped him. Hiruzen also watched as Gaara destroyed the Taki-Nin's arm. Naruto shouted something- but Gaara ignored him and went to kill his opponent. The Fourth Kazekage sighed and shook his head.

Lightning struck. Thunder boomed. The stadium shuddered. Hiruzen felt his lips twitch as he watched Naruto strike at Gaara with powerful bolts of searing lightning-natured chakra, forcing the boy back while at the same time saving the Taki-Nin. Words were exchanged, Naruto looked especially grim, and Hiruzen made up his mind even as the other Kage watched the spectacle below.

Yes. Naruto would have to fight Gaara.

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><p>Naruto took a sip of the water bottle, and then placed it down. He wiped his sweaty brow, breathing heavily. The work as the proctor was exhausting- that many elemental techniques were draining, even for him. It wasn't necessarily chakra consumption, for he had plenty of that. Rather, it was just tiring. Nonetheless, he could continue going- which was good, he decided as he looked up at a clock, because the exams were due to start again in two minutes.<p>

He stood up from his chair in the small resting area. Well, it was time to get back to work.

A few minutes later, Uzumaki Naruto was walking back into the centre of the arena. The crowd above and around him had mostly returned to their seats, but there was still quite a bit of movement, and the noise was almost deafening. Nonetheless, the moment Naruto had appeared it had begun to quieten down as thousands of pairs of eyes tracked him as he moved forward.

The young, blond ANBU pulled out the microphone and switched it on.

"The Second Round of the Chunin Exams will begin," he said loudly, his voice blaring from the speakers. "So, Neji of Konoha and Kouhei of Iwa make their way to the arena. You have two minutes."

Both genin were there in seconds. Hyuuga Neji looked passive, his blank, white eyes staring unnervingly at Kouhei. For his part, Kouhei leered at the Hyuuga. The Iwa-Nin towered over the boy, in height and in bulk, and his squinty-eyes carried a cunning glint. Naruto watched on, a polite smile on his face.

The Iwa-Nin definitely had a strategy here. Neji would have to be careful.

The spinner was spun, and it landed on 'earth'. Naruto held in a wince, even as his shadow clones created a terrain full of boulders and sharpened spikes of rock. This was the terrain that an Iwa-Nin favoured, where many of their earth techniques could be used. Neji would be at an elemental disadvantage here, although his Byakugan should theoretically prevent Kouhei from using the rocks as cover or in an ambush.

"Genin, fight!" Naruto called.

The crowd roared as Neji darted at Kouhei, closing the distance in a blink of an eye. It was an impressive burst of speed from a genin, and Kouhei's eyes widened as Neji lunged at him, his hand held up to deliver a debilitating touch. The Hyuuga was not pulling any moves this round. Recognising that he was at a disadvantage, Neji was going in for the kill as soon as possible.

Kouhei took staggered step backwards, and the fingertips that had been aimed at his forehead missed. Nonetheless, they grazed over his nose and the Iwa-Nin yelped in a surprisingly high-pitched voice. Bleeding from the face, Kouhei seemed helpless as Neji spun around his flailing fist, coming around for another set of powerful strikes- and then, Neji abruptly jumped back. A second later, a series of explosions detonated around the Iwa-Nin, explosives tags going off.

Naruto was surprised. He had seen the Iwa-Nin prime the tags the moment the match had started, but he hadn't thought the boy would have used them when he was in such close proximity. It had been a risky strategy, however, it had worked, and Neji was now far away that the slightly-scorched, bleeding Iwa-Nin could use his technique. Kouhei sped through a series of hand-seals- but they were different from last time, and Naruto saw twice as many seals. The ground underneath him liquefied and Kouhei sank down into the mud.

He disappeared under the ground, and Neji focussed his gaze upon the dirt. He was frowning, and knowing that he lacked anything in his arsenal to force Kouhei out, the Hyuuga jumped up on-top of a nearby boulder. His white, billowing clothes blew in a faint wind as silence filled the arena. Kouhei had not appeared yet, and did not appear in the next few minutes.

The crowd was beginning to get restless. What had once been a tense build-up of atmosphere was evaporating into boredom. Somebody called out for them to hurry up, and he was joined by dozens of other cries. Neji ignored them, as did Naruto. He stood on-top of the tallest pillar, watching carefully. There! In the ground, Naruto saw a tremor, and then another. A crack appeared and dirt exploded outwards as something forced its way out. Neji moved in a flash, hurling a series of kunai at the ground, explosive tags sizzling at the ends.

They detonated- and it was a strong blast, too. They had been at least Grade-3 tags, equipment usually beyond the reach of a genin. Dust and dirt billowed out, and smoke filled the air in a haze. Neji wasn't affected, but Naruto was, and he resisted the urge to blow it all away with a blast of wind. Then, in the middle of all of that dust and smoke, he heard a thud- and then another one, and another one.

They were footsteps, he realised, and as the smoke cleared, Naruto was suitably impressed with Kouhei's technique. While his last one had created a set of rocky gauntlets, this one had created a full suit of armour, and Kouhei was decked from head to toe in slabs of thick, tough stone. The boy was stooped over a little, and Naruto could hear some panting. The technique had clearly been draining, but in the end it had succeeded.

What followed was a battle between power and speed. Neji ran circles around Kouhei, who moved like a lumbering giant in his armour. The Iwa-Nin could not strike at Neji without the boy dodging, yet so far Neji's blows had not penetrated the armour of rock at all. Then, Neji took a stance, charged at Kouhei, and began blitzing him with a series of fast, chakra-infused blows. The air rocked and rippled as Neji hit him once, then twice, then four times, then eight times- and so on- until at the very end, the rock began to crumble.

What happened next was unexpected. As Neji went in for the last blow, the armour of rock cracked and splintered, but suddenly a row of sharpened spikes shot out of the chest area. Neji's hand came down upon it, the Hyuuga realising too late exactly what had happened, and he impaled himself. He immediately pulled back, darting backwards to nurse his wounded hand- but Kouhei raised his arms, and the rock surrounding his hands exploded outwards with the force of an exploding tag.

Neji spun around on the spot, blood trailing after him, creating a huge dome of spiralling chakra, but as he finished, Kouhei lunged with far greater speed than he had before, and struck the Hyuuga in the face. Neji was punted backwards, slamming into the ground and rolling over. Kouhei chuckled, the laughter echoing through the armour of rock as Neji rose. Hands bleeding, his eye swelling up, Neji surveyed his opponent with cool disinterest.

"Proctor," he called.

Naruto turned to look at him.

"I surrender," Neji called. He didn't look upset over his loss, merely resigned. "I cannot penetrate that suit of armour with my level of Jyuken, and I lack the tools necessarily to overcome that limit. The match goes to the Iwa-Nin."

Naruto shrugged. "Neji of Konoha forfeits," he spoke into the microphone. "Winner, Kouhei of Iwa!"

Kouhei allowed the rocks to fall away from him. The boy looked tired, but victorious, and he approached Neji with what seemed like a sneer on his face. His beady, little eyes looked down on the Hyuuga- and then he stuck out his hand.

"Good match, Leaf-Nin," he rumbled.

Neji looked at the hand blankly. Then, he raised his uninjured hand and took it. They shook hands, Leaf-Nin and Iwa-Nin, surrounded by thousands of people. Naruto watched on, smiling wryly. How unexpected.

Perhaps he was distracted. Perhaps he truly didn't sense them. For whatever reason, Naruto was suddenly aware that he was not alone in the arena. He turned his head sharply, a scowl coming across his features as a two men and a woman ran out into the arena through one of the side-entrances.

"Who let you in?" Naruto asked, frowning. "This arena is for genin only."

Neji and Kouhei turned as Naruto flickered, coming down to stand in front of them.

"I have a message for all of Konoha," the lead man shouted.

He had sandy-blonde hair, and rather sad eyes. His mouth was set in a grim line. It was the same for his compatriots as well. The woman held her shoulders back, openly proud, while the third man hunched down under the looks. The crowd watched, some beginning to boo, as the man turned to face the Kage's booth. Naruto clicked his fingers, signalling the guards.

"This is my message!" he shouted. "There can only be one king!"

Naruto narrowed his eyes. Seconds had passed, and none of the guards had appeared. Something wasn't right. From the Kage's booth, Naruto saw Sarutobi rise. Nostrils flaring, the blond ANBU raced at the man, even as he turned. The movement sent his cloak flaring out around him, revealing the circles of Grade-5 explosive tags circling his chest. Each one was sizzling, seconds away from detonation. Naruto's eyes darted over his two companions, and they too wore bulky cloaks.

That many explosive tags would cover the entire arena.

For a split-second, the man with the sandy-blonde hair met Naruto's eyes, and Naruto saw that the man knew of his fate and was prepared to die.

He acted. His charge came to a halt, and he jumped backwards in a flicker of movement, even as the civilians opened their arms to the crowd. Naruto appeared before the two Genin, a hand on each of their arms, and he spun around, picking them up and hurling them away. An instant later, the shadow clones that surrounded the arena acted, moving through the barrier to catch the genin, throwing them backwards at the holes the barrier squads had opened, away from the danger.

There was a flash of movement as Naruto spun around, a kunai appearing in his hand. The lead-man had appeared in front of him, moving as fast as any shinobi, his eyes dangerously cold.

"Die, you puppet!" he whispered fiercely.

Then, the tags stopped sizzling. Naruto met the man's eyes as fire sprung out from all around him, closing in on him with no hope of escape.

* * *

><p>In the Kage's booth, Sarutobi Hiruzen watched as Kouhei weathered the attacks of the Hyuuga boy and forced the prodigy into resigning. Next to him, Onoki leaned forward as he watched on, a touch of smugness on his face. Hiruzen harrumphed, and puffed on his pipe, drawing comfort from the tobacco.<p>

"Very well," he conceded, as if it had been his intention all along. "You may have that round. Your genin is quite skilled, I'll give you that. He has researched his opponents well."

"Kouhei is a rising prodigy," Onoki replied. He settled back into the lush cushions underneath him, looking satisfied. "He will rise to become a great master of earth techniques."

"There have been many skilled shinobi presented today," the Fourth Kazekage murmured. "The potential is there."

The Fourth Raikage said nothing. Now that his genin were out of the exams, the man looked utterly bored. He sat there, chin rested upon arm, watching, and no doubt making a mental note of everything he saw. Hiruzen eyed A from the corner of his eye.

"Eh, what's this, Sarutobi?" Onoki asked. "Is that part of your great show?"

Hiruzen turned his eyes back to the field. A group of people had just emerged from underneath the arena, and even at that distance the Third Hokage could tell that none of them wore the uniform or headband of a Leaf-Nin. What was this, then?

"I don't know," Hiruzen murmured.

He felt the chakra within him begin to stir as his instincts began to stir. Something wasn't right here.

"I have a message for all of Konoha," one of the intruders screamed out to the audience.

The Hokage saw Naruto summon the Jonin Guard, the shinobi who should have been guarding the entrance to the arenas- and his eyes narrowed as he saw that none answered the call. One of the intruders turned to face the Kage's box, and Hiruzen stared down at the man who so brazenly stared back, no trace of fear on his face.

"There can only be one king!" the man roared.

For a split-second, Hiruzen froze. His eyes darted to the left, where the Fire Lord had stopped fanning himself. The noble looked truly stunned, and he turned his head to look at the Hokage. Shirasagi's eyes met those of Hiruzen, and an unspoken message was passed between them. The Third Hokage rose up from his seat, ignoring the Kage that sat around him, and he moved to the edge of the balcony. Naruto was charging at the man, the intent to take him down clear.

Suddenly though, Naruto halted his advanced and retreated. The blond ANBU picked each of the genin up even as the intruder who had spoken moved forward with the speed and grace of a shinobi. Then, Naruto threw each of the genin clear, turning back just as the man was upon him.

A devastating explosion rocked the arena. The booth shuddered, and the audience screamed and ducked as fires tore apart the arena in seconds. Dozens of explosive tags must have gone off, Hiruzen concluded, not even moving an inch as he watched the storm of fire from above. The barrier squads shouted to each other and held back the force of the explosion, the barrier glowing with a deep blue shimmer. The spikes and pillars of earth that had set the stage for the previous fight were blasted apart in an instant underneath the force of the explosion, and the earth was torn to shreds.

Perhaps an entire reel had been primed, Hiruzen thought in the back of his mind, but the rest of him was utterly focussed on below, and he was barely aware that each of the Kage had come to join him. His hands had tightened against the guard rail as the fire began to dissipate, smoke billowing up into the air, rising through the barriers. Blackened and charred earth was revealed, a pockmarked and desolate surface appearing before them all.

No ordinary shinobi could have survived that. Even a good shinobi would have perished. But Naruto was not just a 'good' shinobi. Where was he?

He felt it first, a rising, foul blaze of unholy chakra from the middle of the diminishing flames. Yellow and orange flames died down, disappearing, as a dark crimson light emerged from the smoke. The chakra was potent and strong, clearly recognisable to all of the shinobi that had been present in Konoha twelve years ago. As the smoke died away, Hiruzen stared down at Uzumaki Naruto.

Crimson slitted eyes stared back. The boy was surrounded by a miasma of light, bubbling, oozing chakra that covered his entire form. His whiskers had deepened, with his teeth sharp and his fingers curled into claws. A lone tail swished behind him, and even at that distance, the Hokage could see blasted and burnt patches of skin knitting back together, repairing itself. Naruto stood there for a few moments, breathing deeply as the regenerative properties of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox restored his body back to good order. His clothes were in tatters, and some of his hair was missing- but even that was beginning to grow back.

There was dead silence in the arena. The citizens and audience members stared down at the glowing visage before them. Some whispered. Some drew back. The shinobi in the audience muttered to each other. A word was being repeated all around, a word that the Third Tsuchikage said quietly to himself.

"_Jinchuuriki_."

* * *

><p>Naruto let the power coarse through him, repairing his battered, burnt body. It had been a close thing, he reflected, even as he battled against the negative feelings that dwelled within him. The sound of rattling chains was ever-present in his ears, but he ignored them. What a dangerous situation that had been. For an explosion that great, there must have been at least forty explosive tags- Grade 5, and they hadn't been those bulk-ordered tags from the Manufactorium too.<p>

No, these had been handmade. You could always tell.

Naruto smiled grimly, feeling his sharpened teeth bite into his lip. With practised-ease, he cut off the connection between him and the power of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox and let the bubbling crimson miasma dissipate from around him. His clothes were in tatters, he realised wryly, but he pressed his hand against his ANBU tattoo and summoned his armour. It would have to do. Then, he turned and faced the Hokage, who watched him from the edge of the booth. The audience murmured and spoke to each other with hushed whispers.

Now what?

He didn't have to wait long. The figure on the booth snapped his fingers and somebody appeared in a blur. A few moments later, a messenger appeared before him, holding two bits of paper. Naruto took them both and read them. The first one was simple- continue on with the exams. The second was not-so-simple, and must have been written before this incident. Naruto blew out the air from his cheeks as he channelled a spark of fire to his hands and turned both bits of paper into ashes. Then, the messenger was back, and he held a microphone in his hand. Naruto took it, turning it on and tapping it.

"Testing, testing," Naruto mumbled. He winced at the high-pitch squeal. "Testing. Okay, it's working. Ladies and gentlemen, Konoha apologises for the ..." here he stumbled, "delay. I think we're good to go. Barrier Squads?"

There came an affirmative.

"Right. Well, I'm clearly not dead, so I guess we'll… just go on," Naruto turned and looked at the ground. He made a few hand-seals, and the earth groaned as he churned itself over. Scorched and blanked ground disappeared beneath the surface as newly-tumbled earth replaced it. "Konohamaru of Konoha and Gaara of Suna, you're up."

It was back to business.

The Chunin Exams continued. The crowd was restless, and the murmurings continued, but they were mostly covered up by the cheers and shouts as Gaara and Konohamaru appeared. The latter still wore the adamantium helmet, the transformed monkey that he had summoned the last fight. The former appeared the same. However, he watched Naruto with slightly-widened eyes, his hands trembling.

Naruto remembered the first letter and eyed Gaara grimly.

"Konohamaru," Naruto said quietly as the Sarutobi approached the field. His voice was out of reach for anybody apart from those two. "If Gaara puts you in his sand, surrender. Don't waste time trying to get out of it. Understand?"

"I'm not going to give up," Konohamaru protested, clenching his fists, scowling.

"Idiot," Naruto hissed under his breath. "You saw that Taki-Nin, right?" He leaned in a little as Konohamaru sobered. "I _barely_ got to him in time. Don't die, you brat."

Then, Naruto moved away. The wheel was spun, and great gouts of fire and pillars of earth rose from the ground. The shadow clones around them formed hand-seals and held them, sustaining the terrain, while the real Naruto took a spot on the tallest pillar of earth, watching the match intently. He would have to move quickly if- no, _when_ Konohamaru lost this.

The boy was good for his age, but he wasn't good enough to take on a _Jinchuuriki_.

The fight began- and Konohamaru was clearly struggling from the get go. The young boy was countered at every move but a swirl of sand, blocking every kunai and shuriken, and smothering the explosive tags before they had even detonated. The young Sarutobi had clearly chosen to keep his distance, to keep out of reach of Gaara's sand, and stayed on his pillar of earth. Gaara also did not move, content to keep blocking, occasionally sending out a shuriken of sand that Konohamaru blocked or dodged.

A few minutes into the match saw Konohamaru down to his last few weapons- and it was clear from the boys clenched hands and biting lips that he didn't really have another plan. However, as Konohamaru slowed down, Gaara stepped up the pace. The red-haired boy raised his hand, and the fallen sand from his fallen sand-shurikens rose up. It had scattered all around Konohamaru, but now it moved around him, binding his arms and legs- and covering his mouth. Konohamaru spluttered and gasped against the binding of sand, helpless, even as Gaara sent a whole stream of it from his gourd across the fiery arena.

Naruto had seen enough. He appeared before Konohamaru, his face grim.

"This match is decided," he called out loudly. "Konohamaru of Konoha is unable to continue. Winner, Gaara of the Sand."

There weren't very many cheers this time. Thousands of people leaned forward, watching to see if the unstable boy would continue to attack regardless of the verdict. They were not disappointed.

The sand continued on, unabated, and Naruto turned to face it. He made a few lightning-quick hand seals, his chakra flaring up within his tired, sore and aching body. Then, he gathered wind-elemental chakra in his hands.

_Wind Release: Great Wind Breakthrough!_

The resulting gust of roaring wind sent the incoming sand scattering, blown back, buffeted by the strong gales. Naruto shook his head grimly as he turned back to Konohamaru, who was whimpering as the sand began to squeeze around him. He made a few hand-seals, and lightning chakra blazed on the palm of his hand. With quick, deft movements, he cut through the bindings of sand, which hissed and sizzled underneath the heat. Konohamaru fell, and almost immediately one of Naruto's shadow clones appeared. He picked Konohamaru up and disappeared, just as a giant wave of sand crashed into where the boy had been a moment ago.

The real Naruto had jumped back, ever instinct on edge, and he watched on coolly as Gaara arose from the giant mound of sand, his eyes bulging.

"She… she will not be denied a second time," he whispered rather erratically.

The bloodlust he was radiating was potent and strong. His bulging eyes, trembling limbs and menacing grin painted a rather unstable picture. For a genin, he was undoubtedly powerful- and combined with his power, and his instability, he had even been put in a few of the Bingo Books as an A-rank. It was with a grim smile that Naruto decided that he would see if Gaara had earned that.

"This is _my_ arena," Naruto began, folding his arms and looking upon the unstable Jinchuuriki stonily. "And that's twice you've ignored me. Gaara of the Sand, you're disq…"

"If you keep getting in away, then Mother will have to feast upon _your_ blood!" Gaara snarled.

Mother? Naruto's eyebrow rose. Then again, that might be helpful, especially given the contents of the second letter. He strode towards Gaara, who stiffened and began to raise his arms. The sand around him trembled, rising up, blocking Naruto from view of the crowds.

It was then that Naruto spoke.

"Gaara," Naruto began. "Your mother is a _whore_, and a _bitch_, and she _never loved you!_"

Gaara's eyes bulged. If it were possible, the bloodlust around him thickened. He was shuddering as he swept his arms in a rather grand gesture, pointing at Naruto. The mound of sand that he was standing on rumbled, and it was with a giant roar that it shot towards Naruto. The audience yelled, some sounding confused, many calling upon Naruto and Gaara to beat the shit out of the other. As the sand surrounding him from all sides, cutting off any opportunity to escape, Naruto reflected that one way or another, they were about to see it.

Then, he was surrounded. The sand crushed him, trapping him, pouring into every crevice of his body- until, it was too much, and the chakra construct promptly dispersed into a puff of smoke.

_Rasengan!_

The real Naruto appeared from underneath Gaara, and as the boy whirled around, eyes wide, Naruto delivered the A-rank technique right into his chest. Sand was grinded away, his armour useless against the powerful technique- but Naruto stopped it short of killing the Suna-Nin, and merely used it to blow him backwards. He was sent spiralling away, towards the pits of flames, but his sand raced out to catch him.

_Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique!_

From the rising pillars of flame came a dragon head-shaped ball of fire. The sheer heat of the technique would have been felt by those sitting in the top booth had the barrier not been shielding them, and Naruto skilfully manipulated the technique to turn. It opened its mouth and roared- the sound of a thousand explosions- and then it short forward in a flash. Gaara's sand came out to block it, and block it did, but for a few moments, the fire looked as if it were going to eat through the flames, which had begun to blacken. Then, Gaara screamed and the ground cracked. From the crevices came more sand, broken and crushed rock that Gaara used to reinforce his barrier.

_Summoning Technique: Arise, Titan!_

As Gaara finished blocking the flames, hands out and visibly panting, the earth around him shuddered. From the ground came a giant fist of gleaming rock, which swung down to strike at him. Gaara disappeared in a haze of sound, an instant before the giant fist struck the ground where he had been standing. He reappeared- but had to disappear as a _second_ arose from the ground, moving to swat him. Each hand looked like it could have belonged on a class-five summon.

"Stop… stop it!" Gaara shrieked. "I want… she wants…"

He was incoherent. The chakra round him boiled and writhed, a sickly yellow-golden colour, and Naruto shuddered as the first trace of the Tailed-Beasts chakra began to be felt. Naruto stood back, patiently waiting as the sand surrounded Gaara, enveloping him and _changing him_. One of his arms grew in length, a giant claw of sand, the paw of the One-Tailed Demon Raccoon. Then, the sand crept over his face, layering over his skin, crawling into his eye socket- altering and building upon what was already there.

It was a startling change, Naruto realised. Was that he had come off to everybody? He shrugged to himself, and reached into his vest. It had gone on long enough. His objective had been fulfilled- Gaara had used the chakra of the Tailed-Beast. All he had to do know…

Gaara, half-boy, half-_something_, roared, and the sound sent the hairs on the back of his neck rising. The air was thick with foul chakra and inhuman killing intent. Naruto was breathing deeply, but remained unaffected and alert. It was powerful and potent, yes, but nothing compared to the last six months.

He darted forward, utilising his speed, and before Gaara could react, Naruto was upon him. The blond ANBU dodged one swing of the claw, and then another, spinning around and delivering a giant slap to the _thing_'_s_ head. Gaara froze, and then the sand around him began to crumble to the ground. The yellow tag on his head glowed, the faded seal on it becoming as fresh as it would have been had it been written yesterday. Naruto didn't know where Sarutobi had gotten the seal from- the man had not written it himself, the chakra in the seal, while powerful, was decidedly feminine- but it worked wonder.

In less than ten seconds, Gaara, cut off from the chakra of his Tailed-Demon, sank to his knees, looking lost.

"Where is she?" he muttered to himself.

_Mission Details: Force an encounter with Gaara. Overwhelm him. Show that Konoha's Jinchuuriki is better than Suna's._

_Mission _accomplished_._

Naruto sighed, shaking his head wearily. The fight had been just the last in a series of adrenaline-surging events, and he truly couldn't wait until the day was over. As the audience began to clap or boo respectively, Gaara looked up at him with shaking hands.

"Why… why did you stop me?"

Naruto considered that. "Because it was my job," he answered after a few moments. "And, because as much as that brat pisses me off, he's a comrade." He leaned down, his eyes dark. "And you don't fuck with my comrades."

"Comrades?" Gaara whispered. He sounded lonely. "That sounds nice…"

"It is," Naruto answered after a beat.

He was staring at Gaara now, and seeing the lost expression the boy wore brought the sounds of rattling chains to his ears. Was this what he would have been like had the Hokage not dragged him into his life? A life where his only comrade was the mighty beast within him?

"Do you want comrades?" Naruto asked him, scratching his head.

Gaara jerked at that. "They'll betray me," he murmured. "They always do."

"It probably doesn't help that you keep trying to kill people," Naruto interjected. "Besides, I don't know much about you and your family, but that girl from your team- what's her name?"

"Temari?" Gaara asked, confused.

"Well, she's trying to beat the shit out of one of my clones right up 'there'." Naruto pointed, and Gaara followed his finger. Then, as Naruto knelt down to pick up the compliant redhead, he continued. "She threatened to do something nasty to my…er…you know, junk… if I killed you. That doesn't sound like something a betrayer would say, does it?"

Gaara considered that.

"Whatever," Naruto sighed, as he heaved the boy over his shoulder. Members of the Kazekage's guard were coming onto the field. "It's not my problem, and I'm not your councillor."

He handed Gaara over to the grim-faced Suna-Nin.

"Oi, Gaara!" Naruto called as the boy was carried away. Gaara craned his head to stare back at him. "Remember what I said- if you touch my comrades, I'll kill you."

Gaara hesitated, and then nodded.

Naruto turned around, reached for his microphone and switched it on.

"Gaara of the Sand is disqualified from the Chunin Exams because he didn't do what he was told," he said bluntly. "Konohamaru surrendered, so he's out too. We're onto the final match. Sasuke of Konoha, come out and meet your opponent, Kouhei of Iwa."

* * *

><p>With all that had happened, the final match was rather anticlimactic. Uchiha Sasuke, with his sharingan spinning, allowed Kouhei to don his armour of thick, lumbering stone. Then, jumping up on one of the stone pillars, he held out his hand and summoned a blade of pure lightning.<p>

Kouhei didn't stand a chance as Sasuke plunged the deadly technique into the boy's armour, shattering it instantly and covering his hand in blood as he pierced into Kouhei's shoulder. The Iwa-Nin was out in an instant, and the audience cheered and yelled as Sasuke stood above him.

Naruto appeared next to him and took his arm.

"The winner of the 30th International Chunin Exams is Uchiha Sasuke, of the Village Hidden in Leaves!" Naruto yelled, lifting Sasuke's arm up.

The crowd stomped and chanted. Sasuke stood there, his shoulder squared, sharingan spinning and an unmistakable look of pride on his face. Naruto clapped him on the shoulder.

"Well done," the blond ANBU said quietly, barely audible over the din. "Remember what I said a while ago?"

Sasuke turned, a faint puzzled look on his face. Then, his eyes widened and darted to look at Naruto's shoulder, where his ANBU tattoo lay. He looked back at Naruto, who winked.

"I think I might be seeing you soon," Naruto murmured. "No promises though. Now wave."

Sasuke nodded respectfully, his face lighting up with a fierce smile, and he waved.

The Chunin Exams were over.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Fucking finally, because they were a pain to write.**


	31. Recruitment

**A/N: I'm quite aware the last few chapters have been somewhat flat, even rushed in some parts. Nonetheless, I'm going to keep moving ahead and come back to them when the very thought of this arc doesn't make me want to hit something (in this case, my head). This arc has been one that would have kept dragging me down if I hadn't kept forcing myself to write past it. I can't even write ahead, because while this is all plotted and planned, little details often make their way in as I write, and I simply can't write without knowing what those details are.  
><strong>

**Nonetheless, we're almost past it. **

**There are three more arcs left to the story. The next one will be roughly ten chapters. The following is a 5-6 chapter arc about the Land of Water, and then the final arc- well, that's going to be the one I'll have most fun writing. I've got the scenes mapped out perfectly in my head. Hopefully, I can get the next arc done in the next couple of months- the following in the holidays in July, and work on the final one and have it done by the end of the year.**

**Hopefully**

**Well, here you go. Again, I feel like this is... stilted... but whatever. Here's Chapter 31 for you. I hope you enjoy.**

* * *

><p>Naruto enjoyed his sleep in the next morning. Almost as soon as the exams had finished, the boy had been whisked away to Konoha's Department of Intelligence. Although it hadn't been played up at the time, the suicide bombing within the Chunin Exams had sent alarm bells ringing, and Naruto was forced to spend the next two hours recounting his past movements to a squad of very tough-looking interrogators. As much his recent training was classified, it hadn't really been helping his case. Nonetheless, there were some perks to being the Hokage's personal aide, and the Third Hokage himself had come down for a brief moment and released him.<p>

Then he had left just as quick as he had come, citing an emergency meeting with the Fourth Kazekage.

Naruto had gone home and crashed down on his bed as soon as he could. He enjoyed his slumber, and arose at six in the morning. He quietly dressed and checked the Hokage's Master Bedroom. The old man had been punctual that day- Naruto would have been quite surprised if Sarutobi had gotten up to his regular antics given the high number of VIPs visiting Konoha- so the blond ANBU was free to make his way into the kitchen.

He paused at the doorway. Sitting at the table, staring blankly down at his food, was Konohamaru. Naruto watched the despondent boy for a few moments, and then deliberately let his feet scuff on the floor as he entered. Konohamaru jerked his head up as Naruto entered, the Jinchuuriki ignoring the young Sarutobi as he organised his own breakfast. Then, Naruto took a seat at the table opposite of the boy.

"How are you feeling?" Naruto asked quietly.

Konohamaru gave half a shrug. "Alright," he mumbled. He toyed with his food.

"You did well yesterday," Naruto praised. Konohamaru snorted, and Naruto raised an eyebrow. "No, really, you did."

"It was stupid," Konohamaru whispered. He clenched his fists, his knuckles white. "The strategy with the monkey- that was just stupid. No wonder I didn't win. I'm an idiot. I'm good at nothing."

Naruto was biting into an apple, and he toyed with it for a few moments. Then, he chucked it at Konohamaru's head. The boy reacted quickly, jerking his head to the side and letting the piece of fruit whiz past, slamming on the sink with a loud thud. Konohamaru turned back to Naruto, an indignant look on his face, but the ANBU was already biting into a second piece of fruit.

"For somebody who says they're not good at anything, you've got some pretty good reflexes," Naruto said from around his apple. "And I can't think of many eight-year-olds that could have done what you did at the exams. I wouldn't have been able to."

"Please," Konohamaru scoffed, and there was a touch of bitterness in his voice. "You're Uzumaki Naruto. You can do anything. No wonder the old man…" he trailed off.

"I couldn't have done what you did at your age," Naruto repeated quietly. He put his apple down on the table, and stared intently at Konohamaru. "Take the compliment, you brat." Then, standing, he began to leave the table.

He paused at the doorway and spoke without turning.

"Besides, it's obvious that the old man favours you the most," he said quietly.

Konohamaru jerked at that. "What?" he asked stupidly.

"If he didn't, he wouldn't let you enjoy your childhood," Naruto continued. He turned his head, smiling politely. "If he really didn't favour you, you'd have ended up like me. Think about that."

"But I want to be strong like you!" Konohamaru protested, jumping to his feet.

"No," Naruto whispered. The sound of rattling chains filled his ears. "You really don't."

* * *

><p>Naruto spent most of his morning at the office. Despite the Chunin Exams, business had continued to run as usual in the village of Konoha. The Missions Assignments desk continued to pick up clients and send out teams of shinobi, however, without a senior official from the Hokage's office there, a lot of paperwork had built up. Naruto had the clearance needed to sort through a lot of the nonsense, and he did so. As the Chunin around him worked busily, and amidst the chatter and laughter of the clientele, Naruto tuned them all out as he signed through wads of paperwork.<p>

He was oblivious to the few stares that came his way, either from the clients or the shinobi he was working with. Sitting in the chair that the Hokage normally took, his legs swinging underneath and barely touching the ground, Naruto would have been happy to keep working in peace. Unfortunately, a shadow passed over his table, blocking his light, and Naruto instinctively looked up. Sarutobi Asuma stared back down at him, his expression stormy, and for a moment Naruto thought that the man was upset with him. His three genin trailed behind him, each one looking on curiously- although the blonde girl waved energetically at him.

"Was there something you needed?" Naruto spoke up after a while.

His voice was decidedly neutral. There was no official bad blood between the two of them, but Naruto's close proximity and working relationship with the Third Hokage had had some kind of an impact on Asuma. Coupled with the whispered rumours of the bad blood between the Hokage and his estranged son, Naruto had been careful around the older Jonin- and for the most part, Asuma had avoided him completely. He didn't live in the Hokage's residence, so Naruto never really interacted with the man at any one time.

Asuma continued to stare down at him. His eyes were indecipherable, his posture tense and his body language uneasy. "The Chunin Exams…" he trailed off, scratching at his goatee- a gesture that he had probably picked up from his father.

"…were yesterday," Naruto finished for Asuma. He felt a flash of bewilderment. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Asuma snapped irritably, waving off the concern. "No. I wanted to ask you about the intruders- the ones who tried to bomb the arena."

"You can ask all you want," Naruto answered, and shuffled a set of papers in front of him. He placed them to the side and glanced back up at the Sarutobi. "And I'll give you the same answer I've given everybody else. I didn't know 'em." He snorted. "I'd even say that I had nothing against them, you know, if they hadn't tried to blow me up…"

He had been forced to fall back on the chakra of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, using the crimson shroud as a buffer against the explosions. It had weathered the blunt of the blast, and the coursing, thick chakra had quickly worked with his body to heal any damage that had gotten through. Truly, he could see why the Jinchuuriki were weapons- and Naruto had barely begun to tap the surface of that particular well.

Asuma was nodding thoughtfully, his eyes distance, and Naruto was struck by a sudden though. He leaned forward, voice lowering, and asked, "But, you look like _you_ knew who they were."

Asuma shook his head with a rueful smile. "I didn't know who they were," he answered honestly. "But the phrase they screamed- it's not the first time I've heard it." Then, shaking his head, he let out a sigh. "Anyway. Can I grab a D-rank mission for my team?"

Behind him, his genin groaned. The blonde girl, the Yamanaka, rolled her eyes.

"Come on, Asuma-sensei," she groaned. "Let's do something more fun."

"We'll try something harder when Shikamaru stops sleeping on the job," Asuma retorted.

The girl glowered at the after mentioned boy, who was scratching his head, not even trying to deny the claims. Then she turned on her charm. "Maybe if you gave us something more interesting, Shikamaru wouldn't be so sleepy," she said sweetly.

"But if I gave you something more interesting, I'd be showing Shikamaru that all he has to do to get out of work is have a nap." Asuma chuckled and took the scroll that Naruto had offered him. "It's litter collection time, guys. Do it in thirty-minutes and maybe I'll think about your request, Ino."

The girl immediately grabbed Shikamaru's ear and practically dragged him from the room. The Akimichi trailed after them, munching from a packet of chips. Asuma sighed, rolling his eyes, and turned back to Naruto.

"Can I give you a warning?" He asked frankly.

Naruto slowly nodded.

"That bombing, the attempt on your life- that was because of your relationship to the Hokage," Asuma said a touch grimly. He leaned forward, lowering his voice. "That's going to keep happening, I think, and it's probably going to get worse."

"Do you know something about this?" Naruto responded, leaning in and lowering his voice as well. His suspicions were blaring, and he eyed Asuma with the first sign emotion- distrust.

"All I know is that the Hokage has made some pretty horrible choices," Asuma said quietly. He moved to pat Naruto on the shoulder, but the boy withdrew, and Asuma sighed. "Just… you're going to get caught up in them just like I did."

Then, Asuma backed away. When Naruto looked up, he was gone, the faint breeze of a successful _Body Flicker_ brushing against his face. Naruto was frowning as he turned back to the paperwork, but not even the tedious and strangely comforting repetition of the task was enough to clear his head.

* * *

><p>Despite the rather weird meeting with the estranged Sarutobi, Naruto had gotten a lot of the work done by the time lunchtime rolled around. It wasn't necessarily hard- most of the papers merely needed a signature, but they all had to be reviewed carefully. Naruto had found one scroll that, if he had signed as it had been written, would have sent a squad of Jonin into the heart of the Land of Water. The likely outcome of that mission would have been very unpleasant for those involved, so he had quickly stamped it for further review and sent it onto somebody who knew these things better than he did.<p>

Now, he slurped from a cup of instant ramen as he lounged back on a chair in the break room. A group of Chunin chatted to each other in the corner, also on their lunchbreaks, but Naruto ignored them as he delved deeper into the riveting material he had in front of him.

"What?" he muttered quietly to himself. He flipped the page over, and then grinned at what he read. "Yeah! Take that!"

For the second time that day, a shadow was cast over him, and Naruto rolled his eyes as he looked up from his manga. A white-masked ANBU stood above, a shinobi whose very presence had caused silence to fall all over the room. The Chunin on the other side of the room were quiet, eating their lunch attentively and avoiding any glances in his direction.

"Yes?" He asked shortly, none too happy to be pulled away from his reading. He didn't get breaks very often, but when he was scheduled to work in the Missions Assignment Office and the Hokage was absent, he felt like he could justify it. After all, everybody else did- so why not him?

"Hokage-sama has requested your presence in his office, sir" the ANBU said quietly.

"Of course he has," Naruto said with a wry smile.

He finished slurping down his ramen, and then scrunched the Styrofoam up into a ball. He tossed it at the bin nestled underneath the bench, but it missed and bounced onto the floor.

"Ah," Naruto scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. He gave the ANBU a look. "It was my left hand," he defended.

"Of course, sir."

The ANBU was polite, Naruto would give him that, but he spoke with a voice that Naruto didn't immediately recognise. He struggled to place it, or match it with a platoon or squad. After all, in total, there were usually no more than one-hundred and fifty ANBU operatives at any one moment during times of peace.

"What squad are you from?" Naruto asked curiously as he gathered his book and rose to his feet.

"Gamma Platoon, Second Squad, sir," the ANBU responded. He hesitated a little. "I've been newly-promoted- just in from Border Patrol."

"Oh," Naruto said quietly, scratching the back of his head.

Gamma Platoon had suffered extensive casualties during the Blitz, where entire divisions of Sky-Nin had led an invasion force against Konoha using advanced, flying machines. Those numbers would have had to be replaced from somewhere. Naruto gave a reassuring smile to the somewhat-nervous ANBU.

"I'm ready when you are," he said.

"Thank you, sir," the ANBU member said.

The two disappeared in a Body Flicker, and they raced towards the Hokage's Office at a leisurely pace- at least, for shinobi, for they were barely a flicker of movement in the eyes of the untrained. As they came closer and closer to the Hokage's office, Naruto felt his ANBU tattoo tingle every few moments- their identification ringing as they entered restricted areas monitored by other shinobi and barrier techniques.

If they had been intruders, both would have spontaneously burst into flames right about now.

After a few moments, they approached the door to the Hokage's Office, which was shut, and around that door stood a large crowd. The two personal guards of each of the visiting Kage stood there, eying each other down stiffly. Naruto saw two ANBU standing there, each wearing the white cloak of a Captain, and recognised Bird-1 and Boar-1, head of Epsilon and Brave Platoon respectively. They nodded at Naruto and stood away from the door, letting him in, while the newest member of Gamma Platoon hung back as Naruto entered. The door closed quietly behind him.

The leader of the Villages Hidden in Rock, Leaves, Sand and Clouds were before him- arguably four of the five strongest people in the world all in the same room. The atmosphere was tense and heavy, and there was a weight that threatened to push down on him. It wasn't chakra- it was just the strong will of the men in front of him. Naruto masked his emotions as best he could.

The Third Hokage sat in his chair, the three other Kage sitting around his desk facing Naruto. Blank-faced, Naruto walked forward and knelt before the Hokage. Regardless of anything else, the appearance of respect and subservience was necessary when being witnessed by shinobi such as these and Naruto could afford no disrespect. To all outsiders, Konoha must be united underneath the iron fist of its leader, and there must be no signs of sedition or subversion – even if such behaviour had only been intended as a joke.

At least, that's what he was told in ANBU.

"How may I serve, Hokage-sama?" Naruto intoned quietly. He remained kneeling.

"Rise," Sarutobi ordered quietly.

The Hokage was shuffling a set of papers in front of him, a pair of glasses on. Naruto was a little confused at that. As far as he knew, Sarutobi had never needed glasses to read. Then, the Hokage had probably never read anything in front of three other Kage before. A little misdirection never hurt, he supposed.

"We've just been going over the results from the Chunin Exams," Sarutobi explained. He was puffing on his pipe- something that he had been doing an awful lot lately. "The other Kage and I were wondering if we could get your thoughts on how the matches went. You were, of course, the proctor, and as such possibly saw more the strategy and tactics of the genin than any of us."

The Third Tsuchikage snorted. "Speak for yourself, you old goat," he grunted. He hovered near the table, using some kind of strange technique to keep himself aloft, and his arms were folded over his chest. "I saw everything just fine. Not everybody needs glasses."

"I too would like to hear the proctor's opinion," the Fourth Kazekage cut in with what was probably an attempt to diffuse the situation.

The Fourth Raikage grunted, and just eyed Naruto blankly. The hulking man towered over the rest of the other Kage, his yellowish-white hair combed back. He didn't wear a shirt underneath the ceremonial yellow and white robes of the Raikage, a gleaming golden belt adorning his waist. Naruto didn't like the look the man was giving him, but he hid his emotions well.

"Yes, Hokage-sama," Naruto said, and he stood there. "Who would you like to hear about first?"

"Well, why don't you go through all of the genin and tell us who should and should not become a Chunin," the Hokage requested with a rather kind tone.

"Very well." Naruto thought about it for a few moments. "Firstly, I think Kouhei of Iwa and Sasuke of Konoha should definitely get the promotion. Both showed advanced combat manoeuvres, skill in different areas of the shinobi skill and the ability to think ahead and implement strategies. They would make good Chunin."

The Tsuchikage looked a little pleased at that. Sarutobi nodded thoughtfully.

"Very well," he murmured, and ticked something on the piece of paper in front of him.

"Neji of Konoha might be a possible contender," Naruto said after a few moments. He was frowning slightly, thinking. "He has quite a bit of skill, and he was able to recognise when he was in a disadvantageous situation and react accordingly."

"He surrendered," the Fourth Raikage cut in. He levelled a firm look at Naruto, one that the blond tried to meet without flinching. "That's the act of a coward."

"He didn't surrender," Naruto disagreed mildly. "He decided to tactically retreat."

The Fourth Raikage stared at him for a few moments, and then he threw his head back and let out a bark of laughter. "Ha! I like this one, Hokage-dono," he approved. He levelled Naruto a fierce look. "He's smart- and he's got balls."

The Hoakge smiled politely. "Thank you, Raikage-dono." He looked at Naruto. "Thank the nice Raikage, Naruto."

"Thank you for your compliment, Raikage-sama," Naruto obeyed immediately.

It only sent the Raikage into another round of laughter, the huge man slapping his thigh. He was still grinning as he quietened down, revealing a pair of sharp incisors, his small moustache and beard twitching. Nobody else in the room had moved. The Fourth Kazekage was unreadable from behind his veil and robe, while the Third Tsuchikage hovered there with his eyes closed, listening intently. The Third Hokage had his elbows on the table and hands folded, watching everything play out carefully.

"And the rest?" Sarutobi said after a few moments, resting his chin on his hand.

"I feel that neither Gaara nor Kankuro showed the qualities necessary for a good Chunin," Naruto said after a few moments. He resisted the urge to sound apologetic for it, but the Fourth Kazekage merely sighed and nodded. "Shou of Kumo did show some use of strategy, but whether that was enough…" he hesitated. "That's a question for you, as the Kage, to answer." He finished.

"I see," Sarutobi murmured. He wrote something else down. "Anybody else?"

Naruto shook his head. "No, Hokage-sama," he answered.

"Then you're dismissed," Sarutobi concluded. He placed his pen down, and shooed Naruto away. "Come back in fifteen minutes. I need to go over some paperwork with you."

"Yes, Hokage-sama," Naruto replied.

He bowed his head respectfully, and the eyes of four of the most powerful men in the world followed him as he left the room.

* * *

><p>When Naruto returned, the other Kage had left and Sarutobi had taken off his reading glasses. He was leaning back in his chair, puffing on his pipe as he stared at the faces of his predecessors- and, in one case- his successor. Naruto didn't know what he was thinking, but he could tell that the Hokage was in a rather melancholic mood, so be silently walked over to the tea-set in the corner and use a slither of fire-chakra to boil the water.<p>

Then he got about making the Hokage's favourite tea. A few moments later, he carefully balanced the saucer on the cup and brought it over to Sarutobi. He sat it down on the desk, and the Hokage took the cup and tasted it.

"Naruto," he murmured- and then sighed, placing the cup back down. "I feel as if…" He trailed off, and a rather wistful sigh escaped him. He smiled thinly. "It has been a rather exciting half-year, has it not?"

The Blitz. The Cult of Jashin. The Manufactorium. The Chunin Exams.

"Yes, sir," Naruto agreed whole-heartedly.

Sarutobi spun around on his chair and eyed Naruto thoughtfully. He took another sip of his tea and then sat it down. "You used to call me boss."

It was an observation, not a question.

"Naruto. I think you've become rather boring."

Naruto's eyebrows shot up at that. "Boring, Hokage-sama?" he echoed.

"What are you, dumb and deaf?" Sarutobi shot back. He narrowed his eyes. "Boring. Capital B. O. R. I. N. G. It's not a very hard word, Naruto."

Naruto's face probably reflected the doubt he felt. He eyed the Hokage strangely. "Perhaps you should retire early today," he offered cautiously.

Sarutobi made a sudden jerk at that, and for a brief second he stared at Naruto with what seemed like a thunderstruck expression. Then, he threw back his head and let out a round a heartfelt laughter. It echoed in the office, a sound that Naruto had truly not heard that often. Naruto smiled, not really understanding what was so funny, but happy to see that the Hokage was enjoying himself.

A second later, a book punted him in the face and sent him sprawling backwards.

"What do you mean, retire?" The Hokage thundered. He paused, and narrowed his eyes. "Did you just call me old?"

"Goddam it!" Naruto cursed between gritted teeth. His nose really hurt, and he held it gingerly, feeling blood. He jumped back to his feet, the spark of indignation flaring up. "What the hell was that, you decrepit old bastard!"

Another book was hurled at him- but Naruto moved his head and it flew past, impacting upon the door with a heavy thud. A small part of him was surprisingly pleased that he had managed to avoid the projectile. The rest was feeling the familiar burden of being the Hokage's punching bag settling back on his shoulders.

"Only the Tsuchikage gets to call me that!" Sarutobi roared, levelling an accusing finger at Naruto. "And you, you little shit, are not he!"

There was a sudden, heavy pause.

"Wait, what?" Naruto was confused.

Sarutobi was chuckling again, and he exhaled noisily. Naruto rubbed his face warily, but the Hokage seemed happy enough to sit back down at his desk and return to his pipe and tea.

"For heaven's sake, will you clean up all of this mess in the office!" the Hokage snapped. He spun on his chair, turning to gaze out at the village. "And you better not have gotten any blood on my book."

"Yeah, that would be a tragedy," Naruto muttered under his breath- but quietened as Sarutobi's head spun around sharply to glare at him. He picked up the thick books and placed them back on the shelves, and then began organising the Hokage's desk.

He worked in silence for the next few minutes, Naruto sorting out piles of paperwork into different categories and Sarutobi puffing on his pipe, occasionally stopping to take a sip of his tea. The flavour of tea and tobacco combined must have been strange, but the old man didn't seem to mind. Finally, the Hokage let out a sigh.

"Things are going to become difficult in the near future," Sarutobi said. He stroked at his goatee, his eyes distant. "I say that as a warning of things to come. Be on your guard."

"Always," Naruto replied firmly.

Sarutobi let a ghost of a smile appear on his face. "That doesn't mean you need to continue to act, and excuse my language, like a shinobi with a scroll up his arse. Lighten up a little."

Naruto cocked his head. "Er…what?"

Something about that seemed just a tad hypocritical to him.

"Jiraiya and Tsunade both say that you're a little on edge," Sarutobi mentioned. "Given recent events, that is completely understandable, but you do yourself- and by proxy, the Village- no favours." He turned. "As such, I've put in an order to the ANBU Commander. Effective immediately, ANBU Operatives Daichi, Yuuka, Towa, Komachi and Kage have been placed under the command of Sigma Squad."

Sarutobi reached out and patted Naruto on the shoulder.

"After all, Tsunade was telling me that it's important for children to play with their friends. Remember, I want you home before ten, and stay away from the bad touch."

And now the old man was getting all condescending on him. Lovely. Although, the conversation prompted a half-buried memory, one that had only come out yesterday, at the Chunin Exams.

"Actually," Naruto began, "I've got a request about Sigma Squadron."

Sarutobi puffed on his pipe, and motioned for Naruto to continue.

"Uchiha Sasuke performed very well during the Chunin Exams, and I've had a chance to scout him out a bit. I was actually thinking that he'd fit in very well with ANBU, especially since we need to replenish the ranks. If nobody else wants him, then I was wondering if he could be drafted into Sigma instead."

The ceremonial hat had crept lower and lower as Naruto had spoken, until it had covered the Hokage's eyes. At first, the blond ANBU thought that the Sarutobi was giving him grief again, perhaps feigning sleep, but after a few moments, it became clear that the Hokage was truly thinking about it.

Naruto didn't think there was that much to think about, but apparently Sarutobi did. The Hokage drummed his fingers on his desk, and while the expression on his face revealed nothing, Naruto knew the man well enough to see that particular look in his eyes- the look that indicated that the Hokage was truly thinking dark thoughts. Then after a few moments, the Hokage turned to face him, his face serious, and the look was gone.

Naruto stared back.

There was a beat.

"What is he, your boyfriend?"

"Fuck you, old man," Naruto shot back.

Sarutobi chuckled. "I don't think I'm your type," he answered light-heartedly. "Mind you, there's nothing wrong with pale, skinny and dark-haired."

"Oh, just…" Naruto shook his head in disgust. "Is it a yes or a no?" he implored.

The Sarutobi hummed. Then, he nodded once. "Very well," he intoned. "Uchiha Sasuke can be inducted into ANBU- but he's your responsibility. As of tomorrow, he's under your command in Sigma Squad. Do with him what you will."

"Thank you, Hokage-sama," Naruto said gratefully.

Sarutobi waved him away. "Now go away," he snapped, but there was a smile tugging on lips. "I'm sure there's somebody you want to meet."

Naruto began to leave.

"Oh, and I've sent out the message, but if you see the Uchiha before it arrives, tell him that he also made Chunin."

"Yes, boss," Naruto answered with a bored tone, and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

* * *

><p>Hiruzen watched Naruto go and all traces of levity left his face. He turned back to the monument, fiddling with his pipe as he puffed on it. Exhaling a loud cloud of smoke, he felt a wry smile crossing his face. Uchiha Sasuke drafted into Sigma Squad- the very same squad that Uchiha Itachi had been drafted into, although it wasn't as if Naruto knew that.<p>

Only Hiruzen and a few selected others truly knew how Itachi had answered to the Hokage alone.

In the long run, this could pose a problem, however, it wasn't a problem that Hiruzen would have to deal with- and Naruto had looked pathetically imploring as he had asked. Who was he to stop the boy from making a friend? Besides, it would good for the both of them.

He was quite content to sit there peacefully, but there was a knock on the door.

"Enter," Sarutobi called.

The Fire Lord walked in, his face unusually serious, and he spent the next few moments shooing away two members of the Twelve Guardians. They silently obeyed, although the reluctance was very obvious, leaving the Fire Lord alone in the room with the Third Hokage.

"There can only be one?" The Fire Lord quoted quietly.

"Indeed," Hiruzen responded, and the brief moment of respite and levity that Naruto had brought with him was gone. "There were very few people who knew that phrase."

"Weren't they all accounted for?" The Fire Lord asked. There was a flush to his pale cheeks, rather unlike the normally composed and silly man.

Then again, this was no time for games.

"I was led to believe so," Hiruzen answered quietly. "I have sent out some of my best intelligence-gatherers. We will find out what is going on."

"You had better," the Fire Lord spoke warningly. "If this isn't played carefully..." He trailed off and shook his head somewhat bitterly. His fan snapped out. He began fanning himself rather rapidly. "So many years later, and my father is still giving me a headache."

Hiruzen merely sat there, puffing on his pipe. The sins of the past weighed down on his shoulders, but the Third Hokage would bare them as usual. He had done so for over fifty-one years, now. He could continue to do so until it was time.

* * *

><p>It wasn't too hard to find Hatake Kakashi. The silver-haired man had booked Training Ground 21 every-day for the past six months. Technically, it was probably a little unfair that the Jonin could do so, but one didn't reach Kakashi's level without earning a little bit of respect- and earning a few perks. If Kakashi wanted to train on that particular training ground every day, well, the people in admin certainly had no problem.<p>

It was there that Naruto found Team 7. Konohamaru and Sakura were sparring, while Sasuke was conducting a series of acrobatic exercises on a nearby trickling stream- exercises designed to stress the chakra circulatory system and increase one's chakra reserves. Naruto appeared behind Kakashi, who had his nose in his little orange book, and he crept up silently behind the man.

Just before he could peer over his shoulder, the book snapped shut and Kakashi turned. His face covered, and he wore that perpetual bored expression as usually. Slouching on his feet and looking entirely unfazed, the man smiled from behind his mask, causing his one visible eye to crinkle up.

"Yo, Naruto," he greeted with a drawl.

"Captain," Naruto greeted back, and fell in by Kakashi's side.

The two watched the genin continue to spar. Sakura was taller, and had longer reach, but Konohamaru was definitely faster and he was using that to his advantage. The blue scarf whipped up and around him, and Naruto smiled with a twinge of pride as Konohamaru used it as bait, dangling in front of Sakura's eyes and blocking her vision. When the girl went for it, Konohamaru dodged, letting the girl overextend herself and capitalising on it instantly.

"He's gotten better," Naruto said mildly. "I suppose there's nobody better to teach him how to fight dirty."

"You're more than welcome to teach him boxing if you'd like," Kakashi retorted. He put a finger on his chin. "We could have an arena, and a bell, and a sexy girl holding out the cards, and remember, no hitting somebody on the back of the head- that's not nice."

Naruto shook his head in bemusement. "Civilians," he murmured. "What a weird sport."

"So, what brings the prodigious Right Hand of God to my humble training ground?" Kakashi inquired. He turned a flat eye at Naruto. "Has the beauty of my lovely, little girly genin bewitched you?"

"What? No!" Naruto denied, rolling his eyes. "Seriously, what is it with everybody?"

Kakashi ignored him and cupped his mouth. "Oi, Sakura!" he called. The girl in question turned to look at him. "Somebody _likes _you!" he said, drawling out the middle word teasingly.

The girl looked at Naruto, blushed and quickly darted her eyes away. Naruto scowled, and thumped Kakashi on the arm. The man held the appendage with an expression of hurt on his face- or, at least, as much as an expression as one could have with most their features covered up.

"Sasuke made Chunin, you jerk," he told the Jonin quietly.

Kakashi, rubbing his arm, nodded proudly at that. "Good boy," he praised.

"And he's been drafted," Naruto finished.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "Oh?" He uttered quietly. "Interesting. Where to?"

Naruto gave a slight smile. "Sigma Squad, under Captain Uzumaki's authority. It's a squad of seven, now."

Kakashi stared at him for a moment. Then, he chuckled and patted Naruto on the shoulder.

"Well, isn't that interesting," he said with a chuckle. "When does he start?"

"Tomorrow, Training Ground 17, at eight."

"Do you want to talk to him?" Kakashi gestured at Sasuke, who was eying them from the corner of his eye. When he saw that he had the attention of the two Jonin, he quickly diverted his gaze, redoubling his efforts on his exercises.

Naruto shook his head. "It might be better if I don't," he said. "Can I leave it to you to tell him?"

Kakashi rubbed the back of his head. "I'd tease you and say that I might forget, but this is entirely too funny. Of course not, _Captain_."

Naruto smiled with a touch of viciousness. "Damn right I am."

"Well done," Kakashi said, and then shooed him away, his voice rising. "Now off you go. You're disturbing my cute, little bunny-wabbits." He deliberately mispronounced the 'r', and drawled it in that annoying way of his.

"Oi, Kakashi-sensei- we're not pets!" Konohamaru grumbled as he and Sakura rested underneath a tree.

"Oh, I apologise," Kakashi said sincerely. He shooed Naruto away again. "Now off you go, my large, bloated milking cows."

"We're not farm animals either!"

"Don't call me bloated!" came a deafening shriek, and the girl was on her feet, thrusting a finger at Kakashi, her face red with anger.

Kakashi chuckled.

Naruto disappeared in a flicker of movement, allowing the lanky Jonin to continue teasing his genin.


	32. Initiation

**A/N: It's been a long wait, guys. I've started back up at work again, so updates will once again be sporadic for the next couple of months. Still, here's the next part, and I'll try to get one chapter done a week from here on now  
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* * *

><p>Before Naruto went to sleep that night, he made a quick call into the Mission Assignments Desk and met up with one of the clerks taking night duty. She was somebody that Naruto had met before, and had only been too happy to add a pile of small envelopes to the mailroom- letters that would be distributed throughout that night. As a Hidden Village, Konoha never slept, and there were always stores and shops open and services provided throughout the night. Then, after that, Naruto went back to the Hokage's Residence for some rest.<p>

Naruto woke up at six the very next morning, and after attending to his normal duties, he put in his Jonin vest and strapped on his weapons and tools and left. Sometime during the night, some mail had arrived for him, and Naruto had been able to look at his schedule. For the past month, he had been on leave. Each shinobi was allocated a certain amount of days a year to keep up with their physical and chakra-based training. This training was mandatory, and depending on the shinobi, the number of days varied- an administrative clerk would be allocated far less days than an ANBU operative, for example. Despite the fact that Naruto had just spent a month in training, he still had weeks of leave left, so he had arranged for the next week off for both him and the rest of Sigma Squad. They would need some time to catch up and readjust their techniques and training with each other.

That had been one of the letters. The others had been addressed to the former members of Sigma Squad.

* * *

><p>Naruto travelled through the streets of Konoha, moving from Sector One to Sector Eleven. The sun had barely begun to rise over the horizon, and the stars and moon continued to twinkle in the darkened sky. Nonetheless, there was still a significant shinobi presence throughout the village. The Kage and the Feudal Lords had left Konoha yesterday, but there were still a significant number of tourists and dignitaries- many who had bought their own guards, or who required some discrete surveillance to make sure that they didn't get up to anything.<p>

As the civilian population of the Village began to stir, Naruto had passed two ANBU Recon Squads and a strong contingent of Chunin Military Police. The smell of baking bread began to fill the air and workers had begun to set out the market stalls on the streets. Naruto walked past them all, smiling politely at the few who greeted him, and continued on. He could have easily sped through the streets, or used the designated rooftop passages- as a shinobi with ANBU clearance, he had access to the best ones, after all- but there was something about walking through the Village at dawn that he liked.

He arrived in Sector Eleven some time later. It was a huge, sprawling sector, filled with restaurants, food stalls, museums, galleries and other areas of interest. Sector Eleven was where people went out for the night. Naruto had made a booking at one of the local restaurants, a little corner shop that served to both shinobi and civilian customers. It was a small shop, filled with booths and round tables. Behind the counter by the door, the kitchen was visible and the sound of sizzling food could be heard. The server at the counter blinked owlishly at him, as if he was trying to remember where he had seen Naruto's face before, but luckily he didn't remember and he gestured at the booth that Naruto had booked. Naruto walked over, striding past a bickering couple who spoke to each other in hushed tones, and eyed the booth.

He hadn't been the first to arrive. Kage sat there, reading a newspaper with a pen in hand. The older ANBU agent was in his early to mid-twenties, with dark hair, dark eyes and a very ordinary face. There was nothing remarkable about him, either in features of personality, but Naruto knew that he was a strong Jonin with a flair for using visual illusions to hide his vector of attack. The former recon member glanced up at Naruto for a brief moment and nodded his greeting. Then, he went back to his newspaper as Naruto sat down next to him.

Apart from the background noises, there was silence at the table. Naruto helped himself to the bottle of water on the table and poured himself a glass. Then, he peeked over Kage's shoulder as the man did the crossword. He was tapping his pen repetitively as he thought for a few moments, but was filling in the blank spaces rather quickly. Naruto read one of the clues, frowning.

"Watchful," he read out. "Er… looking? Observing?"

"Looking is seven, observing, is nine- I need eight," Kage spoke tonelessly. He cocked his head, eying the puzzle carefully. "Vigilant, which means eighteen across must be victorious." He wrote the words down. "Four letter word being with an 'e'. Clue- otherwise." He paused. "Else."

In the next few moments, Kage finished the 100-clue crossword puzzle and folded the paper in half. As he tucked it away, Naruto saw that the rest crossword puzzles on the other side had been filled in with that neat, printed handwriting.

"Do you do many of them?" Naruto asked curiously.

"Twelve a day," Kage replied quietly. Then, he cocked his head, continuing on as if he felt the need to justify himself. "I consider it training in order to improve my cognitive function."

"Good on you," was all Naruto said.

Kage nodded. "Some of the others have arrived," he said.

Naruto looked over and saw a disgruntled Towa and a flushed Komachi entering the restaurant. Both ANBU operatives were refusing to look at each other, and the poor server looked extremely nervous as he pointed at the booth, sighing in relief as the obviously-angry shinobi left. Komachi and Towa sat on the other side of the booth, Komachi placing both hands in her lap and looking down and Towa grunting as he sprawled over the seat, throwing his arm over the ledge.

There was an awkward silence. Naruto and Kage exchanged a look. The other ANBU gave a slight shake of his head, his eyebrows slightly raised.

"Hello?" Naruto said, although it came out as more of a question.

"Hello," Komachi and Towa replied in unison.

Then, stiffening, they turned on each other, furious scowls on their faces.

"Don't talk when I'm talking, you jerk!" Komachi snapped. A stand of her light-brown hair fell out of place, dangling in front of her eyes, while a pair of senbon kept the rest of her hair in a bun.

"Oh, what, you're the boss of that now?" Towa asked incredulously. He had his dark brown hair up in a spiky ponytail, and a series of criss-crossing red lines could be seen on his revealed arm. "Get over yourself!"

"Get over myself?" Komachi repeated. She clenched her fists, glaring at her partner furiously. "You're acting like this is my fault! You're the one who destroyed my new piece of art!"

"_That_ was art?" Towa sounded amazed. "It was a bunch of swirly lines and some colours. Where's the art in that?"

"It used complimentary colours to invite some colour into a room with neutral colours!" Komachi practically hissed. "Or, at least it did before you threw a _fucking fireball at it!_"

"Well, it's your own fault!" Towa growled. He wrenched something off of his belt and revealed his ANBU mask. While they were normally white with black patterns adorning them, somebody had taken what seemed to be like a packet of crayons to it, decorating it with lovely rainbow swirls and scribbles.

Kage let out a snort, and Naruto palmed his face, although a smile was crossing his lips. Both of them were ignored, however, as Komachi and Towa slammed their heads together, straining against the force the other was pushing against them. A rather deranged grin has crossed both of their faces, and their hands drifted down to their utility belts. For a moment, it looked like a full-blown fight was about to occur-

- and then Naruto calmly picked up his glass of water, gave it a little swirl, and chucked it directly at their faces. Both ANBU operatives backed away, Towa spluttering somewhat, and the tension was immediately defused.

"Be nice, children," Naruto drawled as he put the glass down.

"Yeah! Be nice!" Spoke a new voice, and Hyuuga Daichi strode over, a bright smile on his face.

Naruto grinned, feeling a rush of relief at the sight of the Hyuuga. The older teen had been in intensive care for at least a week after the events of their last mission, and then he had been spirited away by the Hyuuga Clan. Naruto hadn't seen him since, and as he looked at the short-haired shinobi, he immediately noticed one difference. Where most Hyuuga had various shades of white in their eyes, Daichi's had turned a murky grey. The blond ANBU didn't say a thing as Daichi deliberately took a seat between Komachi and Towa, forcing Komachi into the corner and putting a little distance between her and Towa.

Kage surveyed Daichi, scrutinising the older teen. The Hyuuga was probably eighteen or nineteen, and looked just as cheerful as he had before his had sustained his injuries. He met Kage's stare evenly, and whatever the older ANBU member was looking for was apparently there, because Kage gave a short nod.

"You look well," was all he said.

"Thanks, boss!" he said with a bright smile. Then, he frowned with an exaggerated pout. "Actually, I guess you're not the boss any more. What do I call you?"

Kage cocked his head, not looking bothered at all by the reminder of his effective demotion. "Kage," he answered blankly.

"Right," Daichi said after a few moments. "Yeah, not gonna be doing that. We'll come up with a suitable nickname for you." He peered around the table, suddenly realising that somebody wasn't there. "Wait, where's…"

Naruto felt a pair of arms wrap around him and he choked as his ribs were squeezed together. Strands of fine, blonde hair fell in front of his face, tickling his nose, as head appeared over Naruto's. Bright, blue eyes stared down at him, sparkling.

"Yay!" Yuuka squealed, squeezing Naruto even tighter. "It's Captain Cutie!"

Komachi snorted, her bad mood evaporating, while Towa openly chuckled. Daichi just rolled his eyes as Yuuka continued to fuss over Naruto, pinching at his cheeks and ruffling his hair in a manner reminiscent of Jiraiya. Just as Naruto was about to forcibly remove the rather nice-smelling girl, Kage moved forward.

"Off," he commanded. In his hand he held a squirt bottle, and he fired of a single stream, right at Yuuka's face. Yuuka spluttered and immediately backed away, wiping her face. Kage gestured to the only empty seat available- right next to Naruto- and spoke. "Sit."

Yuuka obeyed immediately, scuttling into her seat and trying to look small. Komachi, Towa and Naruto shared rather bewildered glances, while Daichi winced in sympathy but made no effort to help Yuuka.

"So… what's that?" Towa asked in confusion.

"It's a spray bottle," Kage replied quietly. He looked down at the object in his hand. "I rather thought that was obvious."

"I know what it is," Towa countered. "But…" he made a gesture between Kage and Yuuka, then shrugged his shoulders.

"My great aunt once had a cat," Kage said mildly as placed the bottle back into his cloak. "It used to defecate everywhere. She bought a spray bottle. She sprayed the cat when it defecated. The cat stopped doing it." He angled his head. "Simple classical conditioning. I merely took that example and applied it to my squad."

"Can you actually do that?" As a former squad captain, Komachi looked quite interested.

"He shouldn't be allowed to," Daichi muttered.

Kage looked at him. Daichi promptly shut up, sulking.

"Okay," Naruto said, desperate to break the sudden awkward silence. "So, breakfast?"

* * *

><p>Breakfast was a lively affair, and Yuuka soon got over getting sprayed in the face. She seemed to be all over Naruto, pinching at his cheeks, cooing with an affectionate squeal, and mussing up his hair. Naruto took all with stoic silence, idly noting that the idea of her mussing up his hair was nowhere near as bad as Jiraiya. Plus, she had a nice smell- a girly fragrance that he quite liked.<p>

As they ate, the recounted what they had been doing since the last time they had come together as a team.

"Towa and I have been training the new rookies in Gamma Team," Komachi told them all as they ate. She lifted a glass of orange juice to her mouth, took a gulp, and continued. "We're finally able to send off some of the reserves now that we've building up our numbers again."

"Which is fantastic, since there's nothing quite like a grumpy, eighty-year old ex-ANBU operative hobbling about whacking you with his walking stick," Towa muttered dryly.

"Eighty!" Yuuka was fascinated. "Who lives that long?"

"Somebody who used to be really good," Komachi answered. She shook her head, partly in awe. "He's complete rubbish now, mind you, but he was telling us how he once fought the First Raikage in the First Great War, and how he saw the First Kazekage land the final blow."

"It was a massive free-for-all!" Towa explained excitedly. His hands waved all around him as he gestured exaggeratedly. "Divisions from every Village were there, tens of thousands just trying to kill each other. At one point, every side lost communication with their superiors, so they just charged at each other…" He trailed off. "He made the Third War sound like a couple of children arguing over…"

"Crayons?" Komachi interrupted snidely.

"Fuck you," Towa retorted.

"You wish," Komachi shot back.

They glared at each other, ignoring Daichi in between them. The Hyuuga, for his part, hadn't been up to anything exciting. The last three weeks had seen him up out of bed working on his _Jyuuken_ as he got his body back into shape. Yuuka was biting her lip as Daichi spoke about how he even helped Hyuuga Neji train for the Chunin Exams, and as he kept talking, she finally interrupted.

"What's with the eyes, dude?" she asked, then made an 'eep' noise and covered her mouth "I'm so sorry!" she apologise quickly.

"It's fine." Daichi waved it off with a slight smile. He traced over his eyes with his fingers. "It's… I don't know. It's a Clan thing. I can see perfectly fine, and the Byakugan is okay. It's just… the injuries and the psychic shock... well, it took its toll."

Yuuka looked tearful, and she leapt across the table, tackling Daichi and giving him a big hug. Naruto watched on with a smile, and felt just a twinge of jealousy as he did so. Yuuka was quick to move back to her seat and chatted on happily on how she had gone with other members of the Yamanaka Clan on their annual flower exposition, visiting the Capital and other major cities to show off the rare horticultural specimens the clan had collected over the decades.

When it was Kage's turn, he shrugged.

"I trained," he said shortly.

"And…?" Towa led, rolling his hands, prompting the older ANBU operative to continue.

Kage considered it for a minute. "I finished _Konoha Weekly_'s super 1000-word crossword puzzle in forty-seven minutes."

"That's good…"

"It was subpar," Kage admitted with a shake of his head. He looked faintly annoyed. "There was an Akimichi there who had it done in forty-three. I'm getting sloppy."

The rest of the newly-instated Sigma Squad didn't know what to say to that.

"Okay," Naruto said brightly as the last of the plates were taken from the table. "So, let's get down to business."

"Can you see everybody from down there?" Yuuka asked curiously, looking down on Naruto as he dangled his legs.

It was a high seat, and Naruto was a little embarrassed to admit that the table had come up to his shoulders, making eating a little difficult. Towa snickered at Yuuka's comment, and Komachi whispered in Daichi's ear and the Hyuuga nodded, hitting Towa on the shoulder immediately afterwards. When the man scowled at him, Daichi jerked a thumb at Komachi, who smiled sweetly. Towa mouthed something rude at her, and she stuck the finger up in response.

"I can see fine," Naruto answered.

Yuuka cocked her head, her blonde hair glinting as the rising sun began to shine through the corner window. "You can always sit on my lap, if you want," she teased, winking.

Naruto considered it. Then, with a twitch of a smile, he answered.

"Okay."

Yuuka froze. "What?"

Naruto was already moving, however, and he slid along the seat of the booth and climbed up onto Yuuka's lap. The Yamanaka had frozen as Naruto wriggled around a bit, finding a comfortable spot, and then he leaned back on her chest. She was quite warm, Naruto would admit to himself privately later on, and it was actually a really nice feeling. Daichi was chuckling and Towa was waggling his eyebrows as Naruto continued on as if nothing had happened.

"We," he began from Yuuka's lap, "have a new recruit."

Yuuka stopped fussing from behind him. Everybody else perked up, paying close attention.

"From today, Uchiha Sasuke is going to joining Sigma Squad," the blond Jinchuuriki continued.

"Uchiha…" Kage trailed off. "I worked with his brother for a little while."

Nobody said anything.

"I've got Training Ground 17 booked," Naruto told them. His eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "Before we go there though, I just want to hear some ideas on what to do about his _initiation…_"

* * *

><p>Uchiha Sasuke was up at six, and he spent the first hour doing some stretches and going through his hand-to-hand exercises. The deserted Uchiha Compound was silent, save for his grunts of exertions as he practised his jabs on a battered training post. Although he lived at a small apartment in town, Sasuke made a point to visit the Uchiha Compound to train. It helped <em>inspire<em> him. Breathing heavily, Sasuke listened to the sounds of birds chirping for a few minutes, and then he went inside and prepared his breakfast. It was a small one, and he wasn't sure just how difficult or strenuous the first day would be.

After that, he climbed the stairs and entered the master bedroom. Staring vacantly at the spot where his mother and father had been murdered for a few moments, he walked past it and climbed on top of the master bed. A white plastic covered it and it crinkled and rustled as Sasuke put his weight on it. Then, cross-legged, he turned and faced the giant, ornate mirror that had been hung over the dresser.

In the room where his brother had murdered his parents, and with the musty, acrid smell of dust mingled with dried blood that had never quite come out, Sasuke activated his sharingan. A pair of crimson eyes stared back at him from the mirror, the two-tomoe appearing to spin lazily around the socket. Sasuke took a deep breath, inhaling the lingering scent of his father's cologne, and began working on some exercises. With his hand clasped together in a seal, he was there for thirty minutes. It was an exercise that he had once been told about, one that was meant to prepare him to use his sharingan to force an ocular illusion upon an enemy.

He didn't have to do it in that particular room- he just found that it helped his motivation.

After that, he stripped out of his training clothes and placed them in the basket. It was almost full, and Sasuke would have to do the washing as soon as the day was over. Then, he showered, dressed in a pair of shorts and his blue, high-collared shirt, and tidied up the kitchen. Afterwards, he left the house, locking the door as he went, and walked through the empty district. Ever since the massacre, the Sector had been mostly empty, subject only to the patrol routines of the Chunin Military Police.

Leaving the compound, Sasuke found that his fists were tightened, his knuckles white, and a rather dark smile had crossed his face. So lost in his thoughts, he was completely unprepared as a blur of black and white appeared in front of him, and he only got a quick look at the ANBU mask before his world went dark.

When he awoke, he found that he was lying down face-first in the middle of a forest.

He suppressed a groan and opened his eye-lids a fraction. His heart was racing, adrenaline beginning to surge through his veins, and he darted his gaze around him as best he could without moving his head. There was nobody around him that he could see, and Sasuke kept his breathing steady. Then, in a quick, sudden movement, he rolled over and sprang to his feet. His sharingan spun, his face tightened in a fierce glare as he looked for whoever had abducted him.

"The ANBU are the sword of Konoha."

The monotone voice echoed around the forest clearing, and Sasuke spun around. His weapon pouches were still there, and a kunai appeared in his hand. An ANBU agent had appeared on the first branch of the nearest tree. Black lines adorned the mask, and from the voice, Sasuke deduced that the speaker was a fully-grown man.

"We are the shield."

Sasuke saw another ANBU appear, a female. Her shoulders were bare, her red tattoo revealed for the world to see, and she wore her light-grey armour without a black cloak. Spiky light-brown hair had been pinned up behind her head with a pair of thick senbon, and her voice was flat.

"We are the first to arrive at the fight…"

Another ANBU operative appeared, a man this time, with a spiky-brown ponytail. He also had forgone the black cloak, and he had a series of red lines tattooed on one arm and his ANBU insignia tattooed on the other. His arms were folded, and there was a strange note in his voice.

"…and we are the last to leave."

This voice came from behind him. Sasuke angled his head, sharingan spinning, as he saw the next operative drop onto the lowest branch of a tree. Slender, with black hair, and with the build and voice of somebody who hadn't reached full adulthood, this ANBU squatted there, watching him carefully.

"Our fates have already been decided."

This was a young woman's voice, and a pair of slender legs swung underneath a branch as the female ANBU was revealed, watching him while resting her chin on her upturned palms. A mane of shiny, golden hair swished about as she swayed on the branch.

"In the end, we will all die for our Village."

The last voice was familiar, and Sasuke turned to see Uzumaki Naruto walking out from the tree line. He didn't wear his mask, his blue eyes blank. Light-grey ANBU armour adorned his chest, and he wore a pair of trousers, a bandage wrapped around his thigh. His mask dangled from his belt, as well as several utility pouches, and he regarded Sasuke with a small smile.

"Uchiha Sasuke," he said loudly. "You have been called to serve."

He snapped his fingers, and the ANBU in the trees disappeared with a silent flicker of movement. They reappeared behind him, flanking him unison, and Naruto walked forward. Sasuke remained there, his fists clenched and emotion welling within, and he let the ANBU surround him in a loose circle. Naruto walked into the circle and stood before him.

"Will you answer the call?" the blond boy asked, and held out his hand.

Sasuke eyed it, and moved to take it- but then Naruto pulled it back. The Uchiha sent him a quizzical look, and Naruto smiled faintly. Then he moved behind Sasuke, and the dark-haired boy didn't move as a blindfold was put over his eyes. He stood there, his vision black, his ears prickling at every small sound. The wind blew over his body and he could feel trickles of sunlight beam down on him from the morning sun.

"Rather- do we _want you_ to answer the call?" One voice said.

"ANBU Operatives need to be strong." Came another.

"They need to be determined." This was older of the women.

"They need to follow the directives." And that was the youngest.

"The directives of the ANBU Division of the Village Hidden in Leaves…" This was definitely Naruto's voice.

"Directive one- at all times must an ANBU preserve the Will of Fire, ensuring the safety and security of the village of Konoha and her inhabitants, young and old. This supersedes any and all other orders."

"Directive two- an ANBU operative must be willing to give up their life to protect the embodiment of the Will of Fire: the current reigning Hokage of the Village Hidden in Leaves and the Daimyo of the Fire Country, and the great Village Hidden in Leaves."

"Directive three- an ANBU operative must obey the chain of command and follow orders to the best of his or her ability. The chain of command starts with the reigning Hokage of the Village, to the Commander and Chief of the ANBU Division, to Platoon Captains and ends with Squad Leaders."

"Directive four- an ANBU operative must take the orders of the reigning Hokage with priority and before other duties."

"Directive five- An ANBU operative must have a mind that will not yield, able to endure hard work, training and the rigors of combat."

"Directive six- an ANBU operative must be healthy in mind and body, willing and able to reach their peak performance in order to attend to their duties."

"Directive seven- to preserve the security and secrecy of the Village Hidden in Leaves, no ANBU operative must be left behind on the field of battle- alive or dead."

There was a long silence as Sasuke digested what he had just been told.

"These are the directives that the ANBU live by," Naruto said quietly from in front of him. "Do you understand?"

"Yes," Sasuke answered softly. He swallowed nervously, taking a deep breath and nodding. "Yes, I understand," he repeated.

There was a rustling noise in front of him.

"Be wary," said the teenage girl's voice. "For we have many enemies."

From out of nowhere came a spray of water and Sasuke was drenched from head to toe. He spluttered, spitting some of it out, his clothes sodden and sticking to his skin. He raised a hand to clean his ear as the water dripped from him. There was a strange, gurgling noise from in front of him, and then Naruto abruptly spoke.

"Be wary of the Village Hidden in Mist, for they are powerful with their water techniques!"

Then, Sasuke staggered back as a series of muddy clods struck him. One hit him right in the face and he grimaced. It wasn't painful, but the taste of mud was on his tongue and he had to wipe the thick goo off to breathe properly. There was a hasty cough, and somebody in front of him stepped away.

"Be way of the Village Hidden in Rock, for they are plenty with their earth techniques."

Sasuke tensed for the next one- and it probably made things worse. He let out a very undignified yelp as something shocked him, a current of power that sent every muscle twitching. He jerked and twitched, and glared from behind his mask as he definitely heard somebody masking a laugh.

"Be wary of the Village Hidden in Clouds, for they have lots of lightning techniques that'll totally rip you apart into little pieces, and the dead animals will come and feast on your remains as you lay there- ow!" the operative was cut off by a meaty thud, obvious a strike.

There was a short pause.

"Be wary of the Village Hidden in Sand," came the voice of the teenage girl, but she trailed off. "Er… because…" There was a note of uncertainty in her voice. "…because…they might throw sand at you!" she declared dramatically.

Sasuke just sighed and let a clod of sand hit him in the face. He spat out the lightly powdered stuff, shaking his head and rolling his eyes beneath his blindfold.

"You must be strong, like the Village Hidden in Leaves is strong," Naruto declared. "Feel our strength!"

Then, Sasuke was crushed as a huge mass came falling down on him with the rustle of leaves and branches. He fell to one knee, fighting through the torrent of weight, feeling dead leaves and twigs crush underneath his hands. He rose up with his blindfold still intact, coming out from the obvious pile of leaves to a round of chuckles and laughter.

"Uchiha Sasuke." Naruto's voice was warm, and a pair of hands took of his blindfold.

Sasuke blinked, and looked down at himself. Wet, dirty, covered in mud and sand, hair standing out at every end, and up to his waist in dead leaves, he shook his head resignedly. Naruto stood before him, flanked by the ANBU operatives, each who had taken off their masks. The young blond put his hand out again, staring into Sasuke's sharingan without fear.

"Will you answer the call?" he asked quietly.

Sasuke raised his arm and they shook hands.

Naruto smiled. "Welcome aboard."

The other agents had taken off their masks, and Naruto began introducing them.

"That's Kage- he's a close-combat specialist, great with a blade, excellent stealth," Naruto was saying. Sasuke stared at the rather plain man, who nodded at him with absolutely no emotion. "Then there's Towa over there. He's got this cool seal etched into his arm, and it lets him make any weapon he wants. It's really handy, he can go in for close-combat and stand back for ranged attacks."

Towa waved lazily.

"Then there's Daichi- he's a Hyuuga, so expect him to dominate in hand-to-hand." The Hyuuga gave a cheerful thumbs up. "And then there's Komachi. She's a Jonin, very good with senbon and wire attacks, and she's even got some medical training in there. She'll probably save your life."

Komachi shook his hand very professionally.

"Then the annoying blonde over there is Yuuka. She's a Yamanaka, and specialises in auditory and visual illusionary techniques. If she pinches your cheeks, punch her."

"Well," the blonde teenager said thoughtfully, one finger on her lips. "He is pretty cute, but not as cute as my Captain Cutie!" she squealed, sounding eerily like her relative- Ino.

She made a move to come towards Naruto, but the blond had somehow produced a spray bottle from somewhere, and the Yamanaka 'eeped' and moved backwards, her hands up.

"This is really good!" Naruto sounded amazed, and he eyed the bottle with something like reverence.

"What is it?" Sasuke asked, looking confused.

Naruto turned around and sprayed him in the face. Sasuke spluttered, waving his hands in front of his face frantically.

"What was that for?" he demanded.

"What was that for, sir," Naruto corrected and sprayed him again.

It didn't hurt, but it was really annoying! Nonetheless, Sasuke took the hint.

"Don't worry," Towa cheerfully called from across the clearing. "We've got a week to get you up to speed on the basics."

"And there's lots to learn," Komachi murmured.

"But before we do, there's one more thing we need to do before your spot here is really permanent…" Naruto said.

* * *

><p>Naruto entered the Hokage's Office, the rest of Sigma Squad flanking out behind him. His face blank, Naruto knelt down before the Hokage, and the rest of the ANBU operatives did as well. Uchiha Sasuke stood there for a moment, surprise visible on his face, but then he too knelt down. The Third Hokage stared over them from behind his desk, his elbows on the table as he rested his chin on his knuckles. Sasuke felt the Third Hokage look at him and was suddenly glad that he had his eyes on the floor. There was an unusual tension in the room, and the Uchiha swallowed.<p>

"Rise."

It was not the voice of the Hokage. An ANBU operative had appeared from behind the Hokage. He didn't even slide in from the shadows- one moment, he was not there, and the next he was. Naruto and the rest of Sigma Squad rose, and Sasuke followed suit. He gazed at the new ANBU operative. Unlike the other ANBU he had seen, this one wore a mask of pure, gleaming silver. There was something about him, a certain edge to the way he stood, and Sasuke suddenly had the strangest feeling that this new ANBU agent was one of the strongest people he had ever met.

"Ferret." The ANBU with the silver mask spoke. Sasuke was assuming that this ANBU was male, but after hearing the genderless, synthesised voice that held both bass and treble tones, he wasn't quite sure.

"Commander," Naruto returned quietly.

Sasuke couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. Ferret? Was that Naruto's codename?

"I am interested to know why you have inducted a new member into the Special Assassination and Tactical Squad without my express permission." The ANBU agent- the Commander- spoke.

Sasuke couldn't detect any emotion in that heavily synthesised voice, but he got the feeling that the Commander was not pleased. Naruto evidently got the same impression because his shoulders squared back just a tad, and he levelled a blank gaze towards the Commander.

"As the ANBU fall under the purview of the Hokage, and Sigma Squad represents his persona interests, I wasn't aware that I needed your express permission," Naruto said very carefully. He gestured at the Hokage, who sat there, watching. "I really only need his."

The ANBU Commander cocked his or her head. "You would defy me on this? Even if you are right, you could be making a powerful enemy here."

"I could," Naruto admitted. He shrugged. "I guess I might."

The ANBU Commander considered that. "Why?"

Naruto thought about it for a moment, his face strangely pensive. Around him, his squad remained at attention, armoured and masked. "Because I said I would," he answered finally.

The ANBU Commander chuckled- a truly odd sound- and once again Sasuke couldn't tell if it was a laugh of amusement or rising anger. "Very well."

The Third Hokage moved for the first time, his dark eyes peering out from his red and white conical hat. Sasuke felt pinned by the man's look as the Hokage looked over him with disinterest. The Uchiha could barely believe that this was the same man who would visit the academy and tease the students. Here, he was somebody completely different.

"Uchiha Sasuke," the Third Hokage began quietly. "You have come highly recommended by current ANBU operative Uzumaki Naruto as a possible recruit for the Special Assassination and Tactical Squad. After reviewing your record and speaking with your Jonin-sensei, I have decided to agree to Naruto's request. From this day forward, you have been allocated to the ANBU's Sigma Squad, under the purview of Uzumaki Naruto, for a probationary period of one month."

The ANBU Commander shifted. "This is unprecedented." Strangely, it didn't really come off as a criticism, merely an observation. "There are protocols for this."

"When have they ever stopped me, old friend?" Sarutobi countered with a quiet murmur. "Do they truly have relevance here?"

"I should hope so." The ANBU Commander said after a beat. "You wrote half of them, if I recall correctly."

Sarutobi paused. "Ah, well, look at Naruto's face," he said, and gestured. The blond ANBU's face remained impassive, his eyes blank. "He's like a little puppy that wants his treat. Could you deny that face?"

The ANBU Commander turned to look at Naruto. Then, the Commander turned back to the Hokage.

"Yes."

"Of course you could," the Hokage replied with a chuckle. A faint, almost affectionate smile adorned his face. "That's why you're my Commander. Nonetheless, my decision stands."

The Hokage rose and moved from behind his desk. Naruto took a step back, and Sasuke was left in the middle of the office. The Hokage stood in front of him, his hands clasped.

"You have heard the directives of the ANBU," Sarutobi spoke, and Sasuke wondered how the old man knew that. "Do you agree to abide by then, through life's trials until death's rest?"

Sasuke's mouth was dry, and he could barely reign in his anticipation. His fists were clenched, his mouth dry, and he struggled to form words for a few moments. Finally, he felt his mouth moving, almost of it's own accord. "Yes," he whispered hoarsely.

The ANBU Commander came to stand next to Sasuke, and the Uchiha felt the sleeve of his right arm pulled up. The Commander held out a hand, and Sasuke saw a flicker of red light and tiny little squiggles that looked like writing. Then, the Commander slapped his palm down on the arm and Sasuke flinched. There was pain, a burning sensation that seemed to go into the very bone and the Uchiha grunted. His sharingan was activated, more by instinct than by choice. He rode out the pain, and it only lasted for a little while longer.

Then the Commander stood back and Sasuke looked down at his arm. The spiralled shape of the ANBU insignia had been branded there, but it was black, not red like everybody elses. The Hokage held out a hand, and made a hand-seal.

"Uchiha Sasuke. By the authority of the Seat of the Hokage, I hereby induct you into the Special Assassination and Tactical Squad- the ANBU. You are now an operative responsibly for the security and safety of this village, and the Land of Fire. Where other shinobi will take missions for profit and money, you shall not. Your goal- your only goal- is to protect this nation from all threats both foreign and domestic."

He paused.

"You will be asked to commit acts that will be morally reprehensible." The Hokage's voice was heavy, but strong. "And you will do these acts, knowing that your bloodied hands are just one more sacrifice that you make for the safety and security of the Village."

Sasuke felt a burning sensation on his arm- not as painful as before, but every bit as strong. Before his eyes, the blackened tattooed came to life as it adopted a reddish colour, and Sasuke could feel a pulse of chakra shoot through his body that did not belong to him.

"Uchiha Sasuke. Welcome to the ANBU." The ANBU Commander spoke.

Sasuke bowed his head as the Hokage stood back, and the mood of the room seemed to lighten as the old man gave a gentle smile.

"Perhaps you'd like to take him to the HQ and show him around, Naruto," the Hokage suggested.

Naruto nodded, and with one last bow, Sigma Squad- including their new recruit, Uchiha Sasuke, left the Hokage's Office.

The Hokage and ANBU Commander remained there a little longer.

"Is this truly a wise idea?" the ANBU Commander asked as the Sarutobi made his way back to his desk. "The closer he is to ANBU, the more likely it is that the secret of the Uchiha Clan will be…"

"Stop," the Hokage interrupted. He took a deep breath, and gave a heavy sigh. "I am an old man, my friend- wearied and full of regrets. Perhaps one of the largest of them just stood in this room." The old man turned to stare out the window. "If it makes him happy, then so be it. Sasuke will remain in ANBU."

The ANBU Commander's head dipped in acknowledgement.

"Besides, Naruto will be a good influence," the Hokage added. He pressed his fingertips together. "He will guide Sasuke's hatred into productive uses, and perhaps, the bond that they will develop will benefit them both. Should the truth ever be revealed, his experiences in the ANBU just might make Sasuke understand why we did what we did."

The ANBU Commander stood there for a few moments. Then, just as the Hokage sighed and turned on his chair, looking ready to get back into his paperwork, the Commander spoke.

"He will not forgive us."

Sarutobi smiled somewhat bitterly. "I would not expect him to," he answered honestly. His face hardened. "Nor would I ask for it. Dismissed, Commander."

The ANBU Commander left the room, leaving the Third Hokage to his thoughts.


	33. Winter's Keep

**A/N: Y****o. It's been a long time, a _very_ long time. Half of this chapter was done, but the rest refused to come out and I put it off until I honestly forgot about it. That said, I managed to whip the rest out the other day, and so here it is. Hopefully I'll be able to keep updating. I've written about 2k of the next chapter, and hope to get more done tonight.**

**Enjoy.**

* * *

><p>In a way, Uchiha Sasuke took to his basic training better than Naruto ever had. In all fairness, Sasuke had started the training at the age of twelve while Naruto had started at a far earlier age. The difference in size, physique and strength was especially noticeable. Naruto had not been promoted to Chunin at the age of eight on the basis of his combat skills, or talent, or mettle. When Sarutobi had plucked Naruto from the Academy, Naruto had been as untrained as they had come. The promotion was simply for the sake of convenience.<p>

Here, Sasuke had earned his promotion. Combined with innate talent, and aided with the power of the sharingan, in a single week Sasuke had picked up the entirety of ANBU hand code, and had a working knowledge of the rules, regulations and procedures.

However, in terms of tactics and strategy, it had still yet to be determined what particular niche the Uchiha would fill.

"I dunno, boss," Yuuka said thoughtfully. She dangled her legs underneath the tree branch, her blonde hair swaying in the wind. "It's hard to tell."

Naruto sat beside her, his elbow on his knee and his chin resting on his closed fist as he stared down at the spar beneath him. Uchiha Sasuke was panting as Towa ran circles around him. The older, bigger, and more experienced ANBU was pushing Sasuke to the brink of his limits, forcing every iota of strength out from the tired Uchiha. Sasuke was exhausted, his eyes bloodshot, his muscles trembling and his chakra spent, his sharingan long faded back to his normal obsidian eyes.

Towa, on the other hand, was showing some slight tiredness, but otherwise seemed fine. He held a glowing crimson sword, activated from the unique seals that had been imprinted in his arm. With a quick hand-seal, the sword shimmered and retracted back into the seal, which glowed with a bright red light before fading to black. He nodded at Sasuke, and the boy managed to let out a feeble groan before he collapsed to the ground, exhausted beyond words.

"We could tailor him to suit any number of roles," Kage spoke up from the tree branch behind him. The enigmatic operative had finished sharpening his dull-black blade and was now wiping it down with an oily rag. He eyed Sasuke clinically, even as the boy let out a single twitch. "His evasion skills are high, and his speed is adequate. With some training, he could become a close-combat specialist, or a long-distance fighter. With his sharingan, we could give him a blade and he would be effective, just as if we had him study genjutsu."

Naruto made a humming noise in the back of his throat. His face was scrunched up into a contemplative frown, and the moment was only ruined when Yuuka let out the squealing noise that had had grown to exasperate him and ruffled his hair.

"Look at you, all serious and cool-looking…" she cooed. "No, wait, don't – gah!"

Kage dropped the squirt bottle. "Bad Yuuka," he deadpanned. "Down."

Yuuka folded her arms, pouting.

Naruto found that he was almost annoyed by Kage's intervention. Sure, Yuuka was kind of annoying, but she was also kind of pretty and girly and she smelled really nice. Then, he shook his head and gritted his teeth. Dammit! This was Jiraiya-sama's fault! That stupid old pervert!

He focussed back on the issue at hand.

"For now, he'll stay in reserve," Naruto declared. He rubbed his hands together. "We'll use him as a general operative to start off with. If we teach him a bit of everything, he can fill in when necessary. We'll sort out his niche later."

Naruto stood up and leapt off the branch. He landed effortlessly on the ground, hearing a crunch of leaves and twigs as both Yuuka and Kage landed next to him. Komachi was already crouching beside the newest recruit, her hands glowing with a warm green light as she tended to his exhaustion, while Towa was holding a drink bottle to the Uchiha's mouth, letting the boy drink from it.

Sasuke's utterly drained eyes flickered towards Naruto, who smiled brightly.

"Having fun?" the blond asked cheerfully, coming down to kneel by the other boy's side. He patted Sasuke on the head, almost like one would pat a pet. "Don't worry. We're only just getting started."

Sasuke made a noise in the back of his throat, something gurgling and desperate.

Naruto made a sceptical face. "Hmm. That was either a whimper of fear or a cry of joy." He turned to Yuuka. "What do you think Yuuka- fear or joy?"

"Definitely fear, boss," Yuuka answered with a grin.

"Our level of training will not exceed the maximum threshold as prescribed in Village legislation and ANBU policy," Kage offered, although with his blank tone it was hard to tell if he was teasing or being reassuring.

Naruto paused at that, and looked at Kage. "Does our policy actually have a maximum threshold?" He asked curiously.

"No." Kage gave a slight shrug. "I was trying to make him feel better."

Naruto glanced down at Sasuke, who was beginning to regain movement in his arms. "Good work," he deadpanned.

Kage looked down at Sasuke as well. "Thank you," he replied.

* * *

><p>Sasuke managed to survive his entry-level training. Sore, bruised and exhausted, he nonetheless limped back home every night alive and well. On the sixth day, Naruto toned down the level of training and the group began working on some team exercises. Sasuke struggled to find his place, especially given all of the roles he was supposed to fill at the drop of a hat. It was a good plan in theory- have a reserve member hang back, waiting to fill a gap in the line- although it was somewhat morbid. Generally speaking, Sasuke would only need to fill a gap if one of them had fallen out of formation, or gotten themselves wounded or killed.<p>

Nonetheless, after the week had ended, Naruto felt that it was time to get out Konoha. Training was all well and good, but the experience a team could get on a mission was invaluable. Yes, Team Sigma needed a mission!

* * *

><p>"No!" Sarutobi thundered.<p>

Naruto winced at the volume, entirely unperturbed eve as the rest of Team Sigma straightened- and given how formal they were being, that was saying something. He raked a hand through his spiky blond hair, rolling his blue eyes. For his part, the Third Hokage sat behind his office desk, clad in the white-and-red robes of the job, and he was shaking his head, waggling a finger down at Naruto.

"Your request is denied," the Hokage snapped- although with no real heat behind his words. He huffed in disgust. "Why on earth you thought I would give you a mission given your history, I'll never know."

Naruto was prepared to at least try to be professional- after all, his squad mates were all discretely watching. After that, though, his mouth dropped. "What do you mean, 'my history'?" he snapped indignantly. "I've got a great track record, thanks very much!"

The Hokage took out his pipe and puffed on it frantically. Almost immediately, he sighed in relief and relaxed into his chair. "Do you see what you've driven me to, my foolish student?" He held up the gleaming wooden pipe. "This is not good for me, yet I ironically need it to keep the stress down and the inevitable heart-attack at bay."

"I drove you to that for _fifty years_? What, from beyond the womb?" Naruto retorted. He folded his arms in a huff, his eye twitching. "Dammit, just give us a mission!"

Sarutobi leaned forward, eyes narrowed. "Every time I send you on a mission, something unfortunate goes down and you wind up being completely over your head!" he thundered, his voice echoing throughout the silent room. He paused, closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Then, he took another puff on the pipe and leaned back. When he spoke again, his voice was much calmer. "And thus, no."

"My missions do not always-" Naruto began heatedly.

Sarutobi interrupted. "Recon patrol led to an invasion of Konoha," he counted, ticking it off with his finger. "Another recon patrol led to a battle with an evil cult. Yet another recon patrol let to a fight with my traitorous student." He gave Naruto a significant look. "Are you seeing a pattern?"

"Firstly," Naruto began from between gritted teeth. "I didn't start the invasion- but I sure as hell finished it. I saved the village!" He paused, cocking his head. "And a princess! That's two out of three! Actually," he continued, turning to eye Sasuke thoughtfully. "That's three for three, since I saved his team, and Sasuke is kind of like a princess."

The Uchiha twitched at that, looking somewhat befuddled. Naruto heard Towa snort from behind his mask, and Yuuka's failed attempt to hold in a giggle.

"He is very feminine," Sarutobi agreed, nodding sagely.

"So?" Naruto held out his arms. "Mission?"

Sarutobi stared down at him

Naruto stared back.

There was a beat.

"No."

"Dammit!" Naruto cursed, making a fist.

Sarutobi snorted. He nodded at Sasuke. "Has that boy even received his mask yet?"

"Um…" Naruto trailed off.

"Idiot!" A large book came and smacked Naruto dead in the head, sending him sprawling down to the ground. The blond ANBU sprung up easily after the blow, the book hand. Sarutobi looked disgruntled as Naruto wordlessly passed it back to him. "Fine! Get him a mask and come back. I'll have a mission for you by then."

Naruto grinned and waved.

"Thanks, boss!"

"Go away already," Sarutobi grumbled. He swivelled his chair to look out the window. "It's far too nice a day to spend it conversing with you."

Naruto turned to his squad. From the way Komachi and Kage were eying him, they had apparently never seen one of his little arguments with the Hokage before. Sasuke was also looking at him strangely, but not with in the same disbelieving way as the others.

"What do you mean, princess?" He asked somewhat stiffly.

"You are very pretty," Yuuka teased, running her hand through the Uchiha's hair. Sasuke swatted it away, scowling, and the Yamanaka laughed.

"Right, let's go and pick up your mask," Naruto said, rubbing his hands together gleefully as he smiled brightly. "I ordered it made last week, so the smith should be done. You'll like it too- I chose it specifically for you!"

"Oh, god," Sasuke muttered despairingly.

* * *

><p>Sasuke stared at the small wooden box that had been brought out before him.<p>

He stood within the depths of ANBU HQ, the deep, darkened underground facilities directly beneath the Hokage's Tower. The smith had been hard at work on his mask for the last week. The ceramic-like material was strong enough to block kunai and shuriken and light enough to ensure full mobility during combat. The intricate array of seals, which had been on the inside of the mask, allowed an operative to see the world around them through the solid material. These seals could even diminish the effect of flash-bombs and provided an operative with limited night-vision, while the air that an operative took through the mask was filtered, screening out all but the most potent of airborne toxins.

Sasuke's mask was somewhat different that the others. Should he choose too, Sasuke could take off the top half of his face-plate, revealing his eyes and the bridge of his nose while still keeping his air-supply filtered. It was unorthodox, but common for previous Uchiha members of the ANBU. The sharingan was a versatile tool, and as skilled Uchiha could make eye-contact with an enemy and ensnare them in a terrible illusion. For that to happen, however, the sharingan must be laid bare for the enemy to see.

The mask was a powerful tool.

It offered a great many useful functions for any shinobi.

It was difficult to create,

It was expensive.

It was rare

Sasuke didn't want it.

"What's that?" He asked flatly, pointing at the painted lines around his mask. "Is that…"

Next to him, Naruto smiled. "That would be the marks that designate your ANBU codename," he answered. The blond scratched the back of his head. "Your codenamed isn't classified. It's really just a tradition."

"So the spots?" Sasuke asked quietly, his fists clenching. "They're part of…"

"Your codename," Naruto supplied helpfully.

"And the coloured stripes?" Sasuke continued flatly.

"Also just part of your codename."

"And my codename is…" Sasuke trailed off, feeling the urge to palm his face."

Next to him, Naruto grinned and slapped Sasuke on the back. "Welcome to Team Sigma, Operative Peacock."

Sasuke really didn't like the name, and his feelings much have shown on his face, because Naruto gave him a nudge with his elbow.

"Don't forget that my codename is 'Ferret'," he remarked glibly.

Sasuke nodded at that- but then a suspicious thought occurred to him. "Hang on," he said after a pause. He whirled upon his new captain, who stood back grinning like a fool. "Who chooses the codenames?" He demanded with a sinking feeling in the put of his stomach.

"Oh, well." Naruto waved the question away lazily, a manner that Sasuke thought would have suited Kakashi just fine. "Does it matter? I mean, life goes on. The sky is blue, the grass is green, and Uchiha Sasuke is a Peacock. Now, put that pretty bird's mask on and let's go back for our mission!"

"Oh, god," Sasuke muttered despairingly.

It was becoming somewhat of a familiar phrase for him.

* * *

><p>Uzumaki Naruto and Team Sigma stood cloaked and masked before the Third Hokage. The old man sat behind his desk, puffing on his pipe as he reviewed a document before him, utterly ignoring the presence of his soldiers. The ANBU operatives, of course, waited with the pretence of patience. Some, like Kage, stood there stoically, and would have been happy to stand there all day if that was what had been ordered. Some, like Sasuke, could feel his legs beginning to spasm. Military drill and protocol had never been his strong suit, and the Uchiha had tended to slouch around everywhere with his hands in his pockets. After standing perfectly still in the same place for fifteen minutes, it was beginning to take its toll on him.<p>

Some, like Naruto, were scowling behind their masks- but the moment Naruto put on his mask, he adopted an air of professionalism and respect for the venerated leader of his Village- or, at least, he did so in front of other people.

After a few more minutes, the Third Hokage sighed. He placed the document on the table and, with a flourish, signed it. Then he rolled it up, bound it with string and lazily chucked at Naruto. The blonde ANBU Captain caught it.

"I'm assigning you a simple mission," Sarutobi spoke. He shook his head almost despairingly. "Although it is my belief that you will nevertheless cock it up somehow, I simply cannot have my hand-picked ANBU squad sitting on their backsides all day."

Naruto twitched.

"You are to escort a member of the Fire Lord's Council to his holding at Winter's Keep." The Hokage pressed his fingertips together. "Lord Shinji is a businessman and a trade baron, and he is held in very high regard by the Fire Lord. As such, this mission warrants a greater and more prolific force than is technically required, and the danger level is low. Do you understand?"

Naruto thought he did. Lord Shinji was an important guy to the Fire Lord, so by having the Third Hokage's personal ANBU squad escort him would send a message and a statement and all of that subtle 'underneath the underneath' stuff that Naruto struggled with. He nodded.

"Good," Sarutobi said with a sigh. "Dismissed- and try not to blow anything up."

* * *

><p>Lord Shinji was a large, round portly man dressed in fine, crimson and purple robes. He wore clogs on his feet and his toenails were finely manicured and painted yellow. He was a man somewhere in his forties, with the loops and curls that were favoured by the Nobles of the Fire Court. From what Naruto could tell, he was a man who had gained the favour of the Fire Lord by shifting large amounts of money into the Royal Coffers. Shinji had business dealings that spanned the entire world, and his pudgy, soft fingers could be found in almost every notable organisation and company in the Land of Fire.<p>

Naruto and his ANBU squad had been assigned to guard Shinji and his entourage. There were at least twenty of them, many who held up Shinji's Palanquin while the overweight noble sat on his cushions, pouring over bundles of paperwork. On the top of Palanquin was a miniature aviary, and within was a flock of trained messenger birds. Every so often, Lord Shinji would withdraw a bird and send off a message. Sometimes the birds returned, Sometimes they did not. At one point, Naruto spotted the large, bulky man frowning as he sent out another messenger- the third for that morning, but he paid no attention to it as the carriage kept trudging forward.

They were moving at a slow pace, but it really didn't matter. They were travelling on one of the Land of Fire's main highways, heading south-west to one of the Land of Fire's most significant holdings. Winter's Keep and the outlying towns and villages were the centre of economic trade between the Land of Fire, the Land of River and the Land of Wind- and Shinji ruled it all. The city had garnered its name because of the curious geography where it had been built. The Land of Fire had its seasonal changes, but it was very unlikely for the temperature to fall below zero and snow was rarely seen- except in one place.

Winter's Keep had been built at the very bottom of a valley that, for some unknown reason, had a completely different climate than the rest of the Land of Fire. The temperature difference from inside and outside the valley could differ as much as twenty degrees, and there was always a layer of snow covering the ground and the large, tall pine trees. Nobody had ever been able to explain it, but it had made Winter's Keep a very popular tourist destination, a huge importer of lumber for firewood, and a natural wonder of the world. It had only ever been a tourist destination until Lord Shinji had rose to prominence, and now money flowed to and from the city in a never-ending stream of trade.

Nothing eventful happened during the four day journey. Naruto used the time to run Sasuke through some more team exercises as they rotated through defensive formations. Lord Shinji didn't seem to mind- actually, he clapped and cheered during one of the few breaks he took from his work as Naruto and Team Sigma staged a false attack. The combination of Naruto, Kage and Yuuka had dove onto the triad formation of Towa, Sasuke, Komachi and Daichi, metal clanging against metal in showers of sparks.

It had been a rather close fight, although the proximity of Lord Shinji had left Naruto, the ninjutsu specialist, rather outmatched by Daichi and Towa's close-combat talents. Still, despite his burning muscles and the sheen of sweat that glistened on his brow, Naruto was quick enough to keep them at bay- if not outright defeat them- while Yuuka was pushed back by Sasuke, his sharingan whirling behind his half-masked face. An unfortunate matchup, her genjutsu were no match for the power of a two-tomoe sharingan, and she had to rely on her natural agility to avoid Sasuke's superior hand-to-hand and weapon skills. Komachi and Kage were rather evenly matched as well, so the exercise took far longer than necessary, but it was a good workout and they all came out from it feeling rather satisfied.

Naruto was feeling good about the team. Sasuke was quiet and withdrawn, but Yuuka was really good and needling a reaction out of him, and many a times Naruto had caught the flirtatious blonde forcing an unwilling blush and scowl out of the repressed boy. Nonetheless, so far Sasuke was shaping up to be somebody who would fit into the team quite well.

He would have been happy to continue the team exercises for another day, but the carriage soon approached Lord Shinji's holding at Winter's Keep, and they began to descend into a valley. Large trees arose from within it, and even as they descended Naruto could see a dozen- maybe more- other roads leading down towards the darkened valley. The sky began to dim as they entered into the range of dark, angry clouds. The trees surrounded them, blotting out the sun as the air began to take on an unnatural chill. In the span of an hour, the climate had gone from warm, pleasant and sunny to teeth-rattling cold. Shinji's entourage had come prepared and they had soon donned their winter coats of fur, while the ANBU team shrugged off the coldness with practised ease, white mist billowing out of their mask with every breath.

Winter's Keep loomed, a giant city in the midst of a storm of snow. The first thing that became apparent was the giant spire that arose from the centre of the city, the Land of Fire's seat of power of the region and the stronghold of the representative of the Fire Court. It was as tall as the Hokage's Tower, made from blackened brick and stone, and looked somewhat foreboding as it loomed over the smaller buildings and houses around it. Naruto couldn't really see much of the rest of the city, for the snow piled around their vision as it gently fell from the darkened sky.

The carriage continued on unheeded though, the paved road staying miraculously dry and free from ice and snow. As they trundled down towards the city, Naruto caught a glimpse of a pair of small obsidian obelisks laid out on each side of the road every so often. Made from the same material as the spire, they had been etched with seals, which glowed with a faint dim light- a mechanism undoubtedly there to keep the routes open and the traffic of trade flowing.

Yet, as the carriage approached the outer limits of the city, it became apparent that something was not quite right. They passed only a few other carriages, most of them leaving the city at a rather harried pace. Then, as they came to the outskirts of Winter's Keep, Naruto became grimly aware that not all was quite right. There was tension in the air, one made up of a thousand little things- the stares that many of the populace threw the carriage, the way women huddled their children away as Lord Shinji passed, and the feeling of a thousand eyes looking at them. Lord Shinji's entourage had felt it too, and they moved closer to the carriage, while Naruto straightened and signalled his team.

In a flash of movement, Kage and Komachi withdrew from their mobile sentry positions and moved closer to the carriage. The rest of Team Sigma took positions around them, becoming a visible and obviously heavily-armed presence around Lord Shinji. The hostility of those they passed lessened, replaced with caution and at times outright fear, but even as more and more men and women moved to avoid them, the eyes that watched them never decreased.

Naruto was sporting a frown behind his mask. Under Lord Shinji, there had never been a serious instance of civil unrest of rebellion in Winter's Keep, yet the atmosphere read of a riot that only needed a spark to start. Something was wrong, and as Lord Shinji sent off the last of his messenger birds, he had the sinking suspicion that whoever he was writing to within the city wasn't going to respond.

He was right. After fifteen minutes, there had still been no response. Naruto thought about delaying the carriage, and he offered the suggestion to Lord Shinji, but the noble adamantly refused and so they continued.

Unfortunately, as the procession moved closer to the spire at the centre of the city, that likelihood of that spark kindling a fire became greater. The closer they got, the larger the groups became, and mulish stares began to turn into dark mutters and sneering faces. Most of them didn't even seem to notice the carriage, courtesy of a well-placed _avoidance_ genjutsu by Yuuka, but the cacophony of shouts and hollers accompanying the crowds were worrying. The Spire loomed above them closer as they neared their destination, but then the road before them was suddenly blocked and the carriage came to a halt.

Although the gates to the spire were only a couple of hundred metres away, there was no way they were going to be able to get through the crowd unnoticed. Before them was a giant crowd, numbering in the hundreds and the thousands. Hordes of men and women stood before them, their faces grimy with soot and dirt and their hands calloused and rough. They yelled incoherently, waving fists with fury, spittle flying from their mouths. They stood in front of the gates, held back by only a few dozen.

Naruto spotted a member of the Chunin Military Police standing on top of the gate, her face ashen and grim as she shouted at the crowd, trying to calm them down. Beneath her were dozens of men and women, clad in padded leather armour and brandishing large shields and batons. Their postures were defensive and wary, and they huddled behind their man-sized shields as all around them the crowd screamed and hollered. Naruto assessed the situation in a single glance, and gave a slight shake of his head.

There were only seven shinobi in the bunch, and four of them looked like _Genin_ messengers, while one was covered in bandages and was swaying on his feet. Where were the rest of the Chunin Officers?

Many of the crowd were waving signs, while a small number of others hurled rocks and other miscellaneous objects that the belted against the tall shields of the guard. They seemed unorganised and angry, yet many of them flocked around a large man in the front, one who was dressed in rough furs and sported a thick, crimson mop of hair. His beard quavered he yelled out, his indistinct booming voice rising above the crowd, making an impatient gesture with his hands. The crowd responded with fervour to whatever he was saying and roared with approval as the man gestured and nodded at something.

Before the eyes of the procession, a pillar of fire arose. It was with dawning horror and rising fury that Naruto watched an effigy of the Hokage catch fire and began burn, casting a blazing yellow light around the crowd. An angry chant filled the air, and Naruto clenched his fists.

Treason!

"_There can only be ONE king! There can only be ONE king! There can only be ONE king!"_ The crowd chanted.

The words struck a chord within Naruto, and he remembered what happened the _last_ time somebody had been saying those words. His hands flew and he signed to his fellow members.

_: Komachi_ _– Towa – primary mission objective- discard carriage- escort priority objective to safety :_

Komachi and Towa nodded instantly. They darted over to the carriage, still held underneath the power of an avoidance genjutsu, grabbed a protesting Lord Shinji and disappeared in a flash. His attendants muttered and looked nervous, many of them starting to back away from the crowd now that the presence of their Lord no longer held them there. Naruto ignored them and continued giving orders.

:_ Daichi – Yuuka – Sasuke – form flanking formation bravo-four – move to assist local… :_

Then, in a flash, whatever plans that Naruto was making were obliterated.

At the very corner of his eye, Naruto caught a flicker of light on one of the nearby rooftops, an apartment building at first glance. It was pure chance, the flames of the bonfire casting a brilliant light that, for a single instant, gleamed off of metal. Something flashed through the air, propelled with great speed and unnerving accuracy. At the head of the crowd, the large red-haired man let out a pained holler as kunai slammed into him, tearing through his furs and embedding themselves deep in his chest arms. At the same time, the Chunin Police Officer, who had so far been doing a fine job in avoiding projectiles, abruptly froze. Something was jutting out of her neck, but Naruto didn't have the chance to see anything else as a thrown glass bottle smashed into the woman's head and she fell out of sight.

There was a sudden hush. Both the crowd and the officers loomed stunned, and for a few seconds, the yells died down into nothingness.

The burly, bearded man raised a shaky arm, gurgling on his own blood. His eyes were wild and disbelieving as he pointed accusingly at the officers in front of him. He tried to say something, but his eyelids fluttered and he collapsed to the ground, blood-soaked and dying.

There was a tense pause. Both shinobi and civilian stared at each other uncomprehendingly.

The spark flew, the kindle burned and the fires were lit.

With a furious roar, the crowd surged forward, pushing back the military police even as they slammed their batons into the protesters. The officers disappeared underneath the overwhelming might pressed against them. Even the shinobi couldn't hold back the tide, and although many of the rioters went down under a barrage of shuriken, dozens more took their place.

Naruto ignored the rioters, keeping his gaze peeled on the rooftop.

_: Contact! Rooftop, bearing west! Activate Bloodlines! :_

From behind their masks, the two bloodline-using males activated their eyes. There was a split second pause as Daichi and Sasuke analysed the information gathered by the _Byakugan _and _Sharingan_. Them, Daichi abruptly tensed and his hands flew in a flurry of sign code.

_: Three contacts- moving away on escape vector :_

Naruto gritted his teeth. _: Kage – Daichi, follow me! Sasuke – Yuuka, assist local friendly forces- lethal force authorised only if necessary - Scatter :_

In a flurry of movement, the ANBU team dispersed.

* * *

><p>Naruto took to the rooftops in a blur of movement, his blonde locks thrown back by the force of his movement and the wintry breeze. Kage and Daichi took guard behind him, and they began to chase after the enemy contacts. Naruto's thoughts were whirling, his fists clenched and his eyes hard behind his mask, and he bounded across the rooftops faster than the average man could see. The riot here had obviously not been an accident. No, the chaos happening behind him was the result of an enemy operation. Somebody had gone to a lot of effort to set this up, and for the gains for the enemy was apparent. A riot like this would have significant repercussions for the Land of Fire and Konoha. A planned operation like this was the type of black-ops that only a specialised type of shinobi could perform.<p>

It was without a doubt- their opponents were foreign ANBU!

_: Contact west- 2.6 klicks : _Daichi signed furiously

Naruto jerked his head and the trio of ANBU changed direction. In the thirty seconds or so that they had been sprinting after the enemy, they had left the inner city behind and had moved towards the outskirts. The buildings here were nowhere near as nice- they were more like huts than homes, and they seemed to be held together just as much mud and bark as bricks. Beyond the poorer districts lay the forest. The canopy shielded the ground form light, and the constant snow significantly reduced visibility. It was a good tactic, but while the weather would normally be a good shield against pursuit, in this case it wasn't going to make a difference. The _Byakugan_ was not fooled by things like snow and branches.

The trio bounded across the rooftop, barely pausing as they crouched down before they jumped again. Then, as they were coming down to land on the roof of the next house, Kage abruptly twisted in the air.

"Trap!" he called.

The older shinobi lashed out with his foot and Daichi grabbed it, using the momentum to alter his trajectory and land somewhere else. At the same time, Naruto bought his hands together and concentrated.

_Wind Release- Great Wind Breakthrough!_

It was a sloppy, less-refined and far less powerful version of the technique, and the air that burst from his hands was more of a splutter than a gust. It was enough to push Kage down, away from the trap. At the same time, the recoil from the technique pushed Naruto back, and he twisted through the air to land expertly on a nearby roof.

The manoeuvre had taken less than two seconds, and the ANBU team recovered in an instant and continued to purse the unknown enemy. They had exited the city now and were approaching the forest, however, the air flashed with a sudden warmth and great gouts of fire sprouted from the tree line. Naruto was forced to come to a stop, his blood racing and his heart pumping as a series of explosions rocked through the forest. The sound was deafening and huge volumes of black, oily smoke rose up into the air. For a moment, it seemed like the entire forest was on fire, but then the chakra fuelling explosions began to dissipate and the fires began to die down.

Nonetheless, they had wasted twenty seconds waiting for the fires to recede to a safe level, and Naruto felt a sinking sensation in the bottom of his stomach as he realised that the enemy had gotten away. There was no way that the ANBU squad could continue a pursuit into an area obviously laden with traps. Either the traps would delay Sigma Team long enough for the enemy to scape, or the unknown enemy would ambush them- and Naruto had no way of knowing just how many of them were hidden within the forest.

Next to him, Kage considered the flame and then turned to his Captain.

_: Continue? :_

Naruto reluctantly shook his head.

_: Cancel pursuit – fall back to assist local forces :_

Daichi made an annoyed 'tsk' under his breath, but he turned with Kage, and together they disappeared in a flicker of movement.

* * *

><p>Uchiha Sasuke was panting, but he didn't let that slow him down as he spun around and delivered a strong kick to the man creeping up from him. With a roar of pain, the man was propelled backwards and landed painfully on the ground. Sasuke didn't even feel a smidgen of satisfaction at the sight, and he gripped his kunai tightly. Blood dripped from the edge of it, and around him three men twitched as the last vestiges of life left them, their makeshift weapons of wood and metal broken and useless. Dozens of others groaned as they fell back, unable to break through the trainee ANBU's defence.<p>

With the arrival of Sasuke and Yuuka, the military police were able to establish a foothold at the very centre of the gates to the spire. Sasuke and Yuuka were not genin, and they were more than a match for even a group of angry rioters. Yet, the rioters hadn't cared about their injuries and casualties, and three times Sasuke had been forced to use his kunai against those who continued on despite their wounds. Even then, they continued to come unabated. Sharingan spinning, Sasuke turned to face the crowd as it continued to surge forward. They yelled and spat hatred at the shinobi, seemingly uncaring about their own losses, spittle flying from their mouths.

The genin that had been supporting them had either retreated or fallen. Only one remained, and he was on his last legs, crimson staining his bandages as he knelt down, unable to move. Still, he wielded his kunai well, and several rioters staggered away bleeding, while dozens of others surrounded him, unwilling to move into the Genin's range. Sasuke's sharingan spun, and he used his superior perception and agility allowed him to dart through the mob. His eyes gleaming red, it took less than three seconds to take down several of the unaware civilians. As they fell to the ground, however, a dozen more from the crowd took their place, their face twisted with rage and anger.

He had no choice.

Sasuke flipped through some hand-seals, moulding the chakra within him, and his chest swelled as he took in a deep breath.

_Fire Release: Great Fireb-_

Suddenly, a tremendous wave of pressure washed over the crowd and, for a second, their momentum halted. Pure, undiluted chakra presence, thick and heavy, crushed down on them all, stamping down on the unceasing rage and fury of the mob. Sasuke saw Naruto appear at the centre of the crowd, his hands bought together in a hand-seal.

"I am ANBU," Naruto thundered. "You will stand down or you will be destroyed!"

Sasuke winced at the voice as it boomed in his ears. The sheer presence that the boy was generating was nothing like he had ever felt before. Normally, the blonde was a rather cheerful person. Even in training, when Naruto was beating him down, he had usually done so with a smile, mocking or not. The presence that pressed on him now, however, felt like the hand of an angry god threatening to smite him if he dared disobey. It would be better to die than to go against a power such as this. Nothing was worth it, nothing!

Sasuke shook his head at that, feeling somewhat woozy. Then, his sharingan spun and he broke the illusion that had settled down on him. His head clearing, his could make out Yuuka behind Naruto, weaving an area-of-effect genjutsu, her hands perpetually moving through the hand-seals. She was obviously attempting to stoke the fear of the crowd- and it worked.

A combination of the genjutsu and the sheer presence that Naruto was bringing to bear on the mob of rioters was enough to override the hatred, and the majority of the crowd shifted back, fear plainly visible on their faces. A few were tough or stupid enough to break free of the illusion, but as they darted forward they met Kage, who dispatched them with ruthless efficiency. His black blade was streaked with blood by the time he was done, and when he took a step towards they crowd they took a step backwards.

"Stay where you are!" the voice of Naruto roared, and it was impressive enough even without the genjutsu backing it up. "If you move, you'll die!"

Sasuke could only breathe a sigh of relief. He took in deep breaths, trying to control his breathing, and it was with a sudden start that he realised that his hand was shaking. He looked down at it, and then at the kunai he was clasping. A drip of blood fell off of the edge of the blade, and he stared at it. In the gleam of the droplet, he saw his sharingan staring back.

The effect was ruined as a gust of warm wind blew through them. The giant effigy of the Hokage continued to burn, radiating warmth throughout street, and discarded rubbish and papers were brought up off of the ground. One such paper came close to him, and the quick glimpse that he got of it was enough to make him snatch it out of the air. What he read made his eyebrows rise.

As the crowd settled down and more and more shinobi began to approach, Sasuke quickly approached Naruto. The presence still radiated out from him, but it was slowly receding as the crowd became more manageable. It was hard to tell what the blonde was feeling, his face hidden by his mask, but when Sasuke handed the piece of paper to his Captain he knew that the other boy wasn't happy.

_Sarutobi, the King-Slayer!_ _Murderer of the Fourteenth Fire Lord!_

Sasuke heard Naruto sigh. "This is not going to go down well," the Captain muttered.

Looking at the bodies of the bloodied and dead that littered the ground in front of the gates, Sasuke could only agree with him.


	34. Debriefing

**A/N: Right. I know I said last chapter that I would update more, but yeah. Anyway, I'll update more. Promise. Seriously, the first 1000 words of the next chapter is done, and I'm writing more of it now.  
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**This is presuming that people still give a crap about this fic.**

**Regardless, even if I'm talking to myself, here's the next chapter. **

* * *

><p>It took two days to sort through the chaos that the riot of Winter's Court caused. Lord Shinji had arrived back at his home in one piece, although Towa and Komachi reported that they had to disable several disgruntled rioters who had tried to stop them. The wealthy noble had spent the next twenty-four hours reviewing the affairs of the regional council when he had been away, intent on finding some explanation as to the discord in his holding. Undoubtedly, Shinji was concerned with his reputation and how it would look to have citizens from his region rioting against their protectors, and he knew that both Konoha and the Fire Lord would undoubtedly be sending investigators.<p>

Naruto knew that the man wasn't probably going to find anything of relevance. Only he and his team knew that the event had been the result of an enemy operation, one that had obviously been designed to damage the relationship between the Fire Lord's Court and Konoha. It pained him to even think it, but unfortunately, the mission had been a complete success. Whoever the enemy agents had been, they had done a very good job creating and enflaming the situation.

Dozens of the members of the Chunin Military Police had been unavailable on the day of the riot, and it was only after Kage had done a little digging that it became apparent that something suspicious had been going on. Over the past week, there had been increased sightings and unconfirmed reports of bandit activity. Four members of a merchant guard had been killed, and two had been kidnapped. A large task force had left a day before the riot, and had only just returned the other day with empty hands and the corpses of those who had been kidnapped.

At the same time, some of the more experienced and long-serving Chunin had curiously been granted forced personal leave for the last week. The decision had apparently been made by the clerks in Lord Shinji's court, yet none of them could recall actually signing the paperwork. Naruto suspected that there was either a traitor within the court, or that one of the enemy operatives had managed to infiltrate the Spire. It honestly wasn't like it would have been a hard thing to do.

There were a dozen smaller events and occurrences like that when viewed separately looked completely innocuous. It was only when they were all brought together that the true picture began to emerge. The enemy agents had arranged, through fake highway robberies and careful infiltration, for over two dozen shinobi to be absent on the day of the riot. They had left a single underqualified Chunin in charge of police operations, along with a handful of non-combat genin. Then they had somehow enflamed a mob of hundreds, and through means still yet unknown, sent them in a direct line towards the Spire. With the careful assassination of a significant respected community leader, they had sent the mob into a frenzy of outrage. At the same time, they had incapacitated the only Chunin with a well-crafted _genjutsu_ and allowed her to be taken down by what appeared to be a civilian.

Despite the fact that it was targeted against Konoha, in some way Naruto _admired_ the way that the operation had been conducted. A hundred different variables had been taken into account and everything had gone perfectly. He had a sneaking suspicion that even Team Sigma's presence in the city had been accounted for. After all, it wouldn't take long before word spread of masked ANBU felling citizens of the Land of Fire, and the damage that information could do to Konoha was not to be underestimated. Truly, the enemy agents had done a fantastic job, and their involvement in the entire affair had only come to light by mere chance.

The entire situation would have to be handled carefully. The Land of Fire ran on that delicate balance of power between its Feudal Lord and its Hidden Village, and when that delicate balance of power was disturbed- well, the Land of Water had shown just how disastrous that scenario could turn out to be.

Nonetheless, it was a situation that Naruto wasn't going to have to handle, and he had been all too relieved to send off the mission report back to the Hokage with a monkey summon. The response was brief, terse and to the point.

_Assist the local garrison in retaining control of the city. Report back for debrief when the situation is deemed to be under control._

It was after the second day that Naruto felt that the presence of the police force in Winter's Keep was adequate enough to quell any more disturbances. The mood in the air was grim, but reinforcements from nearby regions had begun to arrive and control had been established. A full Jonin Squad from Konoha's Department of Intelligence had arrived to gather whatever information they could. With three squads of Chunin backing up the police force, and a series of raids that crushed down on local terrorist groups, the presence of Team Sigma was no longer needed.

Hence, Naruto gathered his team and departed from Winter's Keep. As they silently sped through the trees, running towards the top of the valley, they passed a group of shinobi carefully wading through the grass below. The Jonin escorting them watched them carefully, but the ANBU sped past them without pausing, leaving the members of Konoha's Cryptanalysis Team behind. It was there job to identify the traps that had been laid by the retreat of the enemy agents. Konoha's records were vast, and there was always a chance that a style or trap-making technique could be identified.

"Do you think they'll find anything?" Sasuke asked Naruto in a low mutter.

Naruto shook his head. "No," he answered a touch bitterly. "The enemy was too good to leave something that obvious behind."

"What's the point at looking at them then?" the Uchiha asked after a few moments.

By now, the team had almost come to the top of the valley, and they had left the perpetual winter behind. The sun beamed down on them and the frost and snow that clung to their cloaks disappeared into vapours of mist.

From behind his mask, Naruto gave a tight smile. "Because it's a set of trap techniques that we'll be able put in the archives," he replied. "When there's another attack, we'll have an easier time identifying whether it's this black-ops team or another black-ops team."

"Heh." Sasuke didn't sound particularly amused. "Then there'll be another attack then."

"Oh yeah," Naruto answered grimly. "Why wouldn't there be? After all, for the enemy, their mission was a complete success. There's no reason for them to stop now."

* * *

><p>Without the carriage of a noble to slow them down, Team Sigma arrived at Konoha in good time. By the time they had arrived back at their home village, the sun was beginning to set. The moment that the ANBU team arrived at the main gate, a messenger had appeared in a perfect <em>Body Flicker<em> right next to them, a scroll in his hands. Naruto took it, not surprised to see a black ribbon tying it together. All it took was a wisp of his chakra to unravel the security behind the parchment, and he read the missive carefully.

"We've been summoned," Naruto told his team. He rolled his eyes. "What a surprise. The old man better not chuck anything at me…"

In hindsight, Naruto thought that perhaps he would have preferred the Hokage to hurl a book at his head. It would have been better than the oppressively grim atmosphere that his team had arrived into. The room was dark and even as the sun continued to set, the lights remained off. The Third Hokage leaned back in his chair, the red glow from the end of his pipe casting an ominous glow that highlighted the old man's goatee.

Team Sigma knelt before their Hokage unflinchingly as the Hokage stared off into the distance, his face creased into an expression that signified deep thought. Then, after a few minutes, the Hokage stirred in his chair. His robes rustled as he shifted, and he blinked, as if taking notice of the ANBU team there for the first time.

"Ah, Team Sigma," he noted. A somewhat wry smile crossed his face. "Rise. We have much to discuss."

Naruto and Team Sigma rose up off the ground and stood at attention. Naruto was at the lead of the squad, and he could practically feel the old man's gaze boring into him. He would have been thankful for the mask that covered his face were it not for the fact that the Hokage was seemingly staring right past it and directly into his eyes. In the end, he averted them and he could have sworn that he saw a glimmer of satisfaction in the Hokage's eyes.

There was a flicker of movement. Then, two figures simultaneously appeared behind Sarutobi. Nara Shikaku was one of them, and his scarred face was impassive, his arms folded in thought. The other was the tall form of the ANBU Commander, the shinobi responsible for all ANBU operations. His silver mask displayed his rank and prestige, and it gleamed as the last, dying rays of the sun bounced off of it from the window.

It was pretty much settled, then. This was not going to be a _nice_ debrief.

"Uzumaki Naruto," the Third Hokage began in a serious tone. "You have led a team of operatives under the banner of Konoha into conflict against citizens under the protection of the Fire Lord. Under your command, your team has struck down and killed those our Village has been tasked to protect."

The ANBU Commander shifted. "These charges are serious," the person behind the silver mask commented, the synthesised and genderless tone revealing absolutely no emotion. "The Fire Lord has demanded answers. You will provide them."

Naruto's mouth was dry, and he was really glad for the mask that covered his face. Nonetheless, he was pretty sure that all of the high-ranking shinobi in front of him could see him swallow nervously as he gathered his thoughts, trying to phrase what he was about to say next as carefully as possible.

"I believe that I completed my mission and followed my orders," Naruto said after a few moments. "Our mission was to escort Lord Shinji to the safety of his holding. Every action I took and order I gave was for the completion of the mission."

Sarutobi stared down at him, his eyes hard, and Naruto averted his gaze. It was hard to tell what the Hokage was feeling, but Naruto could feel a sinking sensation in the bottom of his stomach. He forced his fears down, ignoring the faint sound of rattling chains, and remained still.

The Third Hokage made a motion with his hand. "Team sigma, you are dismissed. Go." His eyes never left Naruto, and the unspoken command to stay was obvious.

Behind him, Naruto heard his teammates disappear in puffs of smoke, disappearing from the Hokage's Office and leaving him alone with Sarutobi. The ANBU Commander bent down and murmured inaudibly into Sarutobi's ear. The old man considered whatever it was that he had been told, and then nodded. When the ANBU Commander left, there was no smoke and sound, just a flicker of shadows and the execution of a near-perfect Body Flicker.

The Third Hokage stared.

Uzumaki Naruto stared back.

The tension in the air was palpable. Naruto's hands were clenched, his fingers digging in tight against the leather of his wrist-guards. Sarutobi puffed on his pipe, letting out a small cloud of hazy smoke, and then put the slender object down on his table. The 'clack' sounded more like a resounding boom, and Naruto gulped as the Third Hokage opened his mouth to speak-

"What's up, squirt?"

Suddenly, Naruto was under attack. He instinctively moved to bat away the offender suddenly in his personal space, but he was brushed aside with ease, and a large hand came down on his blond locks and began rubbing them furiously. Naruto lashed out with a kick, hearing a yelp while squirming out of the man's grip, and leapt away, moving closer to the Hokage's side.

Jiraiya rubbed his stomach, a mock-look of disappointment on his face. When he noticed that Naruto was looking at him, the look disappeared and he smiled brightly.

"Hey, old man," he said. "That 'Right Hand' of yours kicks pretty hard, you know."

A second later, a massive book slammed into the esteemed Sannin's face. Jiraiya made a choking noise from the back of his throat, but to his credit remained standing. Unfortunately, Naruto couldn't say the same as the book that slammed into his mask almost immediately after Jiraiya's was enough to send him flying.

"Goddamit!" Naruto growled under his breath.

"What have I said about the face, old man?!" Jiraiya exclaimed, throwing the book away and pointing at Sarutobi accusingly. "This is my pride and joy. It's my most important weapon in the war against the sensibilities of a woman's heart!"

Naruto turned to stare at the Sannin incredulously. _Was he serious?_

Jiraiya noticed his look and gave him a reassuring grin. "Don't worry, my young apprentice," he chuckled. "Even with your face, I'm sure I can teach you a few tricks to let you bag some women of your own."

Naruto's hand rose self-consciously, patting away at his mask. There was nothing wrong with his face!

"Jiraiya," Sarutobi's voice broke through the air, stern and unflinching. "Now is not the time."

Naruto straightened at hearing the rebuke in the Hokage's voice, even if it wasn't being directed at him. Jiraiya seemed uncaring of it, however, and he leant on the corner of the Hokage's desk, his arms folded.

"It's always the time, old man," the large Sannin said. He smiled wryly. "You need to lighten up. We can sit here and go on and on about how the shit has hit the fan, but it's not going to change anything. What'll come will come. We just need to be as prepared as we can."

Sarutobi fixed his former student with a firm look. "I'm not as old as to be needing advice from my foolish student," he shot back. Nonetheless, the heat and sternness had faded from his voice, and he sighed. "What a mess this will become."

Jiraiya, seeing Naruto awkwardly standing off to the side, waved the boy over. "Take off the mask. We're all friends here," the Sannin said cheerfully.

Naruto did as he was told, while Sarutobi picked up a piece of paper. It was wrinkled, as if it had been read many times before, and Naruto could recognise his own handwriting. It was the mission report he had sent back immediately after the incident at Winter's Keep.

"We're in trouble, Naruto," the Hokage said gravely. Jiraiya harrumphed at the serious tone, but didn't disagree with the Hokage's words. "The entire situation has become tenuous, and it doesn't appear it will end anytime soon."

"How bad is it?" Naruto asked steadily.

"Bad," the Hokage replied solemnly. "The events that transpired in Winter's Keep occurred in many other parts of the Land of Fire, some less successfully and others more so. However, only in Winter's Keep did the personal representatives of the Third Hokage strike down and kill Fire Citizens."

Sarutobi paused and breathed heavily.

"The outcry has only just begun, and it will become much louder as time goes on."

"It was a good op," Jiraiya mused out loud. He was stroking his chin. "Masterfully done, actually. I hope the Black Ops unit that set this all up gets a bonus. They've earned it."

He spoke in an admiring tone, and Naruto frowned. Jiraiya caught his look and chuckled.

"Lighten up, squirt," he said cheerfully. "Take your feelings away from the situation and looked at it again. It's okay to recognise the strength and cunning of an enemy. Actually, I prefer my enemies that way. I'd hate to be beaten down by a moron." He scratched at his chin.

"I see," Naruto said after a moment's beat. He steeled himself for the next question, knowing that there was a distinct possibility that he wouldn't like the answer. "What do you need of me, Hokage-sama? Am I to be the next Hyuuga Hizashi?"

The Third Hokage froze, and his piercing gaze slammed into Naruto instantly. Jiraiya lowered the hand he was scratching his head with, looking sombre. Naruto managed an uneasy smile, even though his palms were itchy and his mouth was dry. Really, it was okay. If that was what it would take, then Naruto would willingly throw himself on the pyre of sacrifice. It had been his actions that had led to the circumstances the Village now found itself in.

It was a moment of epiphany as Naruto suddenly realised this was what Hyuuga Hizashi had probably felt.

Surprisingly, the Hokage was the first to look away, breaking eye contact to stare out the window at the Hokage's Monument. The Sannin eyed Naruto shrewdly, and then reached out and none-too-gently whacked him across the back of the head.

"Idiot," Jiraiya snorted. He folded his arms, looking unimpressed, while Naruto scowled, rubbing the back of his head. "This would have happened whether you were there or not. In fact, it was probably a good thing that you were there. If you hadn't been, all we would have had was speculation. Now we know for sure. There's an outside entity responsible for all of this."

"Regardless," Sarutobi said grimly. "Even if you had butchered the entire city, we could not afford to discard you like that. We will need your strength in the days to come, Naruto."

There was a pause.

"And, of course, he also meant to say that your contributions have been invaluable and it would be a pretty shitty way to reward you for all of your sacrifice by letting you take the fall for something that's not your fault," Jiraiya added, shooting the Third Hokage quite the pointed look. "Because, you know, just because we're a Hidden Village doesn't mean we have to forget the small, important things like 'doing the right thing'."

Sarutobi frowned. "Jiraiya-"

"Yeah, yeah," Jiraiya waved off the Hokage before the old man could finish. Naruto almost gaped at the blatant disrespect, but the relationship between mentor and student must have been strong because Sarutobi closed his mouth and shook his head in exasperation. "Anyway, Naruto. You've had a long trip. Why don't you go and get changed? There's a briefing for Jonin Leaders and key personnel in an hour, so you're going to want to look your best." He grinned and threw his thumbs up.

Naruto paused, and looked at the Hokage for confirmation. Jiraiya's smile seemed to dim a little, and he laughed awkwardly, scratching the back of his head. The Third Hokage sighed and nodded.

"Dismissed, Naruto."

"Yes, Hokage-sama," Naruto intoned, bowed and then disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

The two S-Class shinobi were left in the office alone. The Third Hokage had his elbows on the table, and he rested his chin upon his clasped hands. Jiraiya folded his arms, standing over the older man and casting a shadow over him. Outside, the birds chirped cheerfully and a gentle breeze blew into the room, yet it did nothing to mask the obvious tension between the two shinobi.

"That kid," Jiraiya said softly, "is pretty fucked up, you know?"

"He is the epitome of a reliable shinobi," Sarutobi rebuked quietly. "His dedication to the Village should be admired."

"Funny," Jiraiya leaned back, smiling grimly. "Orochimaru was also the 'epitome of a reliable shinobi'. So was Hanzo, and Uchiha Itachi. Hell, the Fourth Mizukage was meant to be one of those prodigies as well. Funny, isn't it, at how those picture-perfect shinobi tend to be pretty fucked-up?"

Sarutobi smiled thinly. "That's the price we pay for strength," he murmured. He cast a baleful eye on his former student. "You weren't complaining twenty-five years ago when you were newly appointed to S-rank and the entire village was at your beck and call."

"I grew up," Jiraiya countered. He gestured out the window. "I travelled. I stood back, released my emotions, and saw our world for what it truly was. For all their strength, shinobi like that tend to be _miserable_ human beings."

"Do not lecture me," Sarutobi said evenly. He leaned back in his chair, reaching into his white and red robes to produce his pipe. "I have taught Naruto as I was taught, and how I taught you, just as you took my teachings as you taught Minato. He, too, was one of those shinobi."

"Yeah, he was," Jiraiya said. He began to move for the door, but he stopped with his hand on the doorknob. "But, unlike you, I taught him something very important, even more important than all of his skills. I taught him how to _care_."

He turned around, bitterness on his face.

"And I'll be teaching that to Naruto as well. Don't try to stop me."

He left then, leaving the Third Hokage to himself. Sarutobi puffed on his pipe, gazing out the window to look at the face of his predecessor, and the faces of those who came before him. He exhaled, blowing out a cloud of smoke that rose up and formed a hazy image of the leaf insignia.

"I rather think you're too late, Jiraiya," he murmured.

He almost sounded sad.

* * *

><p>The Commander's Briefing Room was a large, semi-circular amphitheatre in the heart of the Hokage's Tower. A series of benches rose up from the centre of the room, allowing dozens, if not hundreds, of shinobi to sit. Large red curtains draped the walls, tiny scrawls of <em>fuinjutsu<em> preventing many of the common eavesdropping techniques, while members of the Jonin Guard stood at attention on the outside. The room was currently full as Jonin leaders, Intelligence Officers and Clan Leaders gathered to listen to the latest intelligence briefing regarding the recent civil unrest. The room was filled with low murmurs as the occupants mingled with each other. There were Jonin Captains, those in charge of squads ranging anywhere from Genin to other Jonin, talking with members from Konoha's Department of Intelligence. At the front of the room, reserved for the Clan Leaders, Hyuuga Hiashi talked quietly with Aburame Shibi. The two stoic men were strangely animated, their heads bent down as they discussed something that seemed to have the Hyuuga frowning.

The chatter died away as the Third Hokage strolled out from behind the stage. His white and red robes swished as he slowly walked towards to the podium, flanked by Nara Shikaku on his left and Uzumaki Naruto on his right. The Nara seemed to have his eyes closed as he walked out, almost as if he was sleeping with hands in his pockets and his shoulders set in a slouch. On the contrast, the unmasked ANBU agent's eyes never stopped moving, constantly on the guard for a threat, even the in the heart of the Village surrounded by a hundred loyal shinobi.

The Hokage cleared his throat and looked out into the crowd.

"Good afternoon," he greeted hoarsely. He coughed once, then turned away and coughed into his hand again. Taking an audible breath, he turned around and faced his subordinates again. "We're here with regards to the sudden and recent civil unrest that has sprung up around the Land of Fire. This briefing is to help explain the background of the issue for squad leaders and persons of interest, and what procedures you are expected to follow if an incident occurs."

There was a flicker of light and a gentle hum filled the room. At the back of the amphitheatre, three shinobi struggled with a giant contraption. Light poured out of it, and it projected an image onto the wall behind the Third Hokage. A fuzzy picture of the Land of Fire appeared, several red crosses marked throughout the country.

"In a span of twenty-four hours, there were over thirty separate incidents," Sarutobi continued grimly. He gestured at the picture. "Most of them occurred in smaller, less patrolled villages and towns. Five occurred in major population centres. Of those, four were swiftly contained. The other, in Winter's Court, led to shinobi and rioters clashing. There were several fatalities."

The machine hissed and spluttered. Steam rose up from it, and the picture abruptly changed. It now showed a cartoon picture featuring a caricature of the Third Hokage. Sarutobi was portrayed as a hunch-backed, scarred and balding man, with thick eyebrows, sharp teeth and covered in warts and liver spots. Above the picture read 'Sarutobi, the King Slayer', and below read 'Poison in the Fire Lord's ear'. Several of the shinobi hissed at the sight of the treasonous material, but Sarutobi seemed unconcerned.

"This seems to be the main point of contention, my obvious disfigurements aside," Sarutobi said a touch wryly. "Seven years ago, the fourteenth Fire Lord suffered a sudden heart attack and died. He was subsequently replaced by his son. These groups allege that Konoha is directly responsible for the fourteenth's death."

He paused as the shinobi in the amphitheatre listened in silence.

"It is, of course, utter nonsense." Sarutobi rebuked the notion firmly. "This is not the Land of Wind, nor is it the Land of Water. Our Village and the Feudal Court are intricately linked in a thousand different ways. Our bond of friendship and loyalty to the Feudal Court is unsurpassed in all the lands. We serve, and in turn, we are respected and valued."

The picture changed again with another hiss and splutter. It was now a charcoal drawing, featuring a shinobi clad in robes and hidden behind a mask.

"On an unrelated mission to Winter's Court, Uzumaki Naruto made contact and engaged in combat with squad of foreign operatives," Sarutobi continued. The blond ANBU in question ignored the murmurs as he stood behind his Hokage, even as many of the Jonin looked at him speculatively. "Make no mistake. What we are seeing in the Land of Fire today is the direct consequence of an enemy false flag operation. Our land is under siege."

The picture flickered again. Now it showed the face of a young man. Brown hair, brown eyes and a cheerful smile accompanied the picture, and the man seemed to be wearing the robes of a noble. The crimson sole draped around his neck signified that he was a member of the Feudal Court.

"Unfortunately, there are those who are walking right into the enemy's trap." Sarutobi pointed at the picture. "This is Minamoto Hideo. He's a member of the Twenty-Four Torches, the assembly of nobles that govern the regions and sub-regions of the Land of Fire. He's young, charismatic, and utterly convinced that the Fire Lord is under Konoha's control. The Twenty-Four Torches controls many of the logistical, financial and local military operations in the Land of Fire." Sarutobi paused. "Including Hideo, there are seven members who are demanding an immediate review of the situation, including strict controls on shinobi placement, funding allocation and border protection."

_That_ got everybody talking, and the Jonin burst into whispers with each other. As professional as the Hokage's voice had been, even he could not hide the disdain at the very thought of it. The Land of Fire was the most prosperous nation in the Elemental Countries. It possessed great wealth and needed great power in order to defend that wealth from the envious. Any proposal to weaken the power of Konoha would weaken the country as a whole-

- which was probably the entire justification behind the false-flag operations. Naruto saw more than a few Jonin who had reached the same conclusion, and they looked sombre. Given the chaotic events that had happened in the past year, was it possible that this was the prelude to war? After all, Konoha was at its weakest point in ten years.

"Your standing orders…" the Third Hokage began. He paused, and waited for the chatter to die down. "Your standing orders are as follows- carefully observe and record down all instances of civil disobedience and unrest. Any attempt by the civilian populace to impede your mission is to be met with firm, but non-lethal force. Patrol squads and Military Police had full power to arrest and detain people on suspicion of subversive activities. However, you do not have the authority to detain any member of the Twenty-Four Torches. Seek permission from your superiors before you do anything rash, and use your common sense."

His eyes raked over the silent auditorium.

"Be prepared, and be careful," Sarutobi rumbled severely. "Make no mistake. We are at the verge of something horrible. One false step and the Land of Fire could make what is happening in the Land of Water look like a slapping war between children. We do _not_ want to go down that path. Dismissed."

The Jonin rose up from their seats, talking and mumbling to each other as they began to leave the amphitheatre. The mood was sour, and many of the experienced shinobi looked grim. Naruto eyed them from his spot behind the Hokage, the latter who had just struck up a conversation with Shikaku. He wasn't a Medic-Nin or a Yamanaka, but even he could tell that the morale in the room wasn't great.

Movement flickered in the corner of his eyes. He sharply turned his head, but relaxed as he saw Kakashi striding up to the podium looking completely unbothered. The other two members of Sigma Squad hidden in the shadows knew enough about the man to let him pass without hindrance. Kakashi saw that Naruto was watching him and smiled beneath his mask, waving a hand.

"Yo, Naruto," drawled the lanky Jonin. "Whatcha ya doing?"

"You know, my job," Naruto replied in a deadpan. He frowned. "Technically, you shouldn't be back here." He gestured at the ANBU agents around him. "You're making me look bad."

"Ah hah," Kakashi looked a tad sheepish. He scratched the back of his head. "Well, far be it for me to make you look bad in front of your little friends."

"That's my team," Naruto countered. He rolled his eyes. "Jerk."

Kakashi laughed. "Well, I'd call you a 'baby' or a 'brat', but you're not anymore, are you?" He leaned down and socked Naruto gently in the shoulder. "Happy thirteenth birthday."

Naruto paused, his face scrunching up in thought.

"Are you sure?" He asked a few moments later. He counted on his fingers, muttering under his breath. "Fifth, sixth… training on the seventh… we left on the ninth… and holy shit, it's my birthday."

"Like I said," Kakashi answered cheerfully, standing back. He smiled beneath his mask, his visible eye crinkling up. "Happy birthday. Feel free to come to me for any puberty-related advice." He leant down conspiratively. "I'll give you a hint- yes, you are meant to be growing hair there. It's natural."

Naruto's eye twitched. "Learnt that from your book, did you?" he asked tightly.

"Goodness no," Kakashi laughed, waving it off. He waggled a finger in Naruto's face. "A beautiful redhead taught me everything I know!" He cocked his head. "My Jonin-sensei was meant to, but he chickened out for some reason…"

"I wonder why," Naruto retorted dryly. Then, he scoffed and let out a chuckle. "You know, I bet you would have made a hilarious pre-teen."

Kakashi nodded sagely. "I was pretty awesome," he admitted.

"Learn that from a beautiful redhead?" asked Naruto, eyebrow raised.

Something flickered on Kakashi's face, and his hand came up to stroke the headband covering his eye. His face became pensive, and the smile that crossed his face under his mask didn't seem fake. "Nah," he answered quietly. "Somebody else taught me that."

The lanky Jonin shook his head. "Anyway," he said cheerfully. "I've got stuff to do and two Genin to torment. Have fun on your birthday, Naruto!"

"Yeah, later," Naruto called out absently.

The Hokage had finished his conversation and was beckoning him over.

"You and your team are dismissed," the old man commanded. He sighed, puffing on the pipe in his mouth. "You have the next two days off. Make sure your mission-ready by 0900 on the third day. Understand?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama," Naruto answered dutifully.

The Hokage nodded and walked off, still talking quietly with Nara Shikaku. Naruto let out a sigh and gestured for Simga Squad to present themselves. There was a flash of movement and suddenly there were two people standing in front of him- Kage and Daichi.

"We'll meet up at Training Ground 74 tomorrow morning at 0800," the young blond ANBU told them. "Dismissed."

The three ANBU nodded and disappeared in swirls of leaves. Naruto sighed and jumped off the podium. He reached into his flak jacket and pulled out a bottle of water. As he walked out of the auditorium, drinking from the bottle, he heard snippets of conversation from the milling Jonin. Most of it was quiet, speculative chatter, but as he walked her heard a snippet that made him pause.

"- he probably did it," one Jonin was saying to the other. The stripes on his cheeks indicated that he was a Inuzuka. "He didn't exactly deny it, did he?"

The other, a thin, lanky brown-haired man, nodded in agreement. "The old man can be pretty ruthless when he needs to be. If it turns out that he did do it, well, it wouldn't surprise me."

The other Jonin scoffed. "Man, the old man needs to kick the bucket already and put somebody new at the top. I won't want our Village to be dragged down by a –"

Whatever the man was going to say stopped in his throat as the other Jonin jabbed him in the ribs and gestured towards Naruto. Naruto was barely aware of the water seeping onto his clothes and dribbling down his arm, his fist clenched tightly around the bottle, his blue eyes hard and his face like thunder.

"Ah, shit, it's the old man's dog," the first Jonin said, not-too-subtlety. He folded his arms, looking down at Naruto. "What do you want, Uzumaki? Go bug somebody else. I can't be bothered dealing Sarutobi's pup at the moment."

Naruto carefully put his drink bottle away, his heartbeat increasing even as the other Jonin around them took notice. He took a step forward, his mouth opening, when suddenly there was a hand on his shoulder and he was abruptly whirled around.

"Captain, you need to come with me," Yuuka said urgently. Her mask was on her face, her blonde locks trailing behind her back. "It's emergency team business. Komachi and Towa…" she trailed off.

Naruto groaned. Given the penchant of those two to express their 'affection' for one other in the form of explosive tags and sharp, shiny, metal objects, he didn't even want to know mess the two of them had gotten themselves into. If it needed the presence of their superior officer, it was probably going to be bad.

"Let's go," he told her, only pausing to look over his shoulder at the two Jonin. "You two need to watch your mouths. Any more talk like that and there'll be an Interrogator that would _love_ to meet you."

Yuuka none-too-gently yanked him towards Komachi and Towa's apartment. They two ANBU operatives lived in the row of apartment buildings over in Sector 7, so it was a quick journey over the roof-tops until they had made it. They entered the building, and Yuuka practically dragged him up to Komachi's solid-steel door. She pounded on it and it creaked open.

Light spilled out from the crack and Yuuka drew back. She nodded at Naruto, and he took a deep breath before he pushed open the door, fully expecting the worse.

"Happy birthday!" came a chorus of voices.

Somebody pulled a cord and a sign flapped down from the wall. '_Happy 13__th__ Birthday!', _it read, and moments later there was a small puff of smoke and a tiny hail of multi-coloured confetti rained down all over the room.

Komachi, Towa, Kage, Sasuke and Daichi stood in the middle of Komachi's apartment. They were all wearing brightly coloured party hats, even if Kage and Sasuke had faces of stone. Towa was holding a bottle, and he raised in Naruto's direction, while Komachi smiled at him. Daichi gave a cheery wave, and suddenly a set of arms threw themselves around his neck and Yuuka's blonde hair tickled his face.

"Happy birthday, my cute, little captain!" she squealed. She tugged at his cheeks. "Ooh! Look who's growing up to be a big boy! You're a big captain now, aren't you? Yes you are! Yes you are!"

"What the… stop that… get off… gah!" Naruto batted the crazy woman away, and spluttered as he got a mouthful of her hair in his face.

The excitable Yamanaka pushed him towards the rest, and Towa was there to meet him with a grave expression.

"Real men," he said, "drink _this._"

He handed Naruto a bottle, and the young blond took it gingerly. He sniffed at it, and recoiled, even as Yuuka pushed Sasuke towards him. Kage lurked in the background, a quiet but steady presence, while Daichi came up, laughing sheepishly and trying to apologise for Yuuka.

Naruto took it all in and smiled.


	35. The Device

**A/N: A big thanks to DLP for their help with this chapter.  
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**This chapter came about right at the very start of the series, when I was thinking about the odd-combination of modern and ancient technology that the Naruto-verse has. It's sort of a result of that, and at how what we thinking of as relatively harmless inventions could be construed quite differently under those circumstances.**

* * *

><p>"Hey, Towa!"<p>

Towa looked up. His arm was bare, the seals tattooed into his flesh glowing ominously, and he held a glowing crossbow in his hands, held together by black squiggly lines that extended from his arm into his palm and bright, scarlet light. Uchiha Sasuke stood on the other side of the clearing, his brow damp with perspiration.

"Yeah, Captain?" The ANBU agent called back. Unlike his younger counterpart, he seemed completely at ease.

Surveying them both was Naruto and the rest of his squad, resting on the lower branches of one of the many gigantic trees nestled deep in the centre of Training Ground 74. The young blonde looked rather carefree as he sat on the branch, his legs swaying to and fro underneath him. Next to him sat Yamanaka Yuuka, the cheery blonde girl lying down and using his leg as a pillow as she reading from a book. Kage was sitting in the branch opposite him, carefully polishing his favourite dull-black machete, and Komachi and Daichi were two branches above them, engaged in a game of cards.

"Sasuke's a big boy now," Naruto answered. He scratched his head, grinning cheekily, and he gave the older ANBU agent a wink. "Why don't you try the hard stuff?"

Towa faked a look of surprise. "The hard stuff?" He looked over at Sasuke, who had narrowed his eyes as he watched them converse. "I dunno, sir. He doesn't look ready for the hard stuff?"

"You sure?" Naruto sounded doubtful. "Hey, Sasuke!" he called. "You ready for the hard stuff?"

The Uchiha glanced up at him wearily, well used to the bright and cheery attitude Naruto took when the young captain was about to put him through hell. He shrugged his shoulders silently, his sharingan slowly spinning in his eyes.

"See? He's ready," Naruto declared confidently. He waved off Towa's concerns with a dismissive brush of his hand. "Totally try the hard stuff. If he can't handle it, I'll handle all the paperwork."

"Yeah, right," Towa snorted. He folded his arms. "You said that about Beetle, and in the end I had to explain to HQ why our new ANBU recruit dropped out."

"Who's Beetle?" Sasuke interjected, looking surprised.

"Oh, Beetle? He was our _last_ recruit," Naruto lied with a brilliant smile. He paused, adopting a look of thought, and bought his finger up to his lip contemplatively. "He _also_ said that he could handle the hard stuff."

"He couldn't," Kage muttered quietly, although it was audible enough for the rest of the team to hear. "Limbs weren't meant to bend that way."

"Some parts went this way, some parts went that way…" Yuuka giggled, then made a whoosh noise and threw out her hands. "He totally couldn't handle the hard stuff, boss, and he looked a lot tougher than Sasuke."

Sasuke's right eye was twitching.

"Stop it," Naruto ordered sternly, and he rapped Yuuka lightly on the head with the back of his hand. He gave Sasuke an encouraging smile. "Don't worry. Just because you had soft, silky hair, and delicate, pale skin, and pretty-boy hands-"

"And wears a peacock mask," Daichi called up from above.

"And wears a peacock mask," Naruto agreed. "Just because you don't look tough doesn't mean that you aren't. I'm sure you can take it." He paused. "Maybe."

Sasuke was reigning in his temper well, but his displeasure flashed through his eyes. Nonetheless, when he turned back to Towa, his shoulders were raised and his jaw locked out of sheer stubbornness and pride. Towa nodded approvingly, and then raised his arm. With a metallic hiss, the seals on his arm shot out into his palm, and from it formed a crossbow of scarlet light. The ANBU agent raised it and nodded as Sasuke.

"Ready?" Towa called.

Sasuke gripped two kunai in the palm of his hand and nodded.

Then, Towa raised the crossbow and fired.

A shot of searing, bright scarlet light shot from the end of the crossbow with a loud sizzle. It made the previous shots look like mosquito bites in comparison. Almost immediately, Sasuke hurled both kunai at the ground in front of him and flipped through three hand signs. Then, he brandished his palm at the approaching bolt of scarlet light, revealing a seal that had appeared on his hand.

_Barrier Technique: Two-Prong Seal!_

Little tags wrapped around the handles of the two kunai lodged in the ground before him flashed with a blue light, and Towa's attack surged forward and struck a barrier of glowing blue light. It hissed and fizzled, the ground blackening around the kunai as the grass smouldered. The barrier wobbled, but held, and Towa lowered his arm, looking impressed.

"Not bad, kid," he chuckled.

Sasuke looked pleased as he lowered his hand. He glanced at the fading seal on his hand with a speculative look, and then clenched his fist with a vicious grin.

"Barriers, huh?" Yuuka asked quietly.

The back of her head was warm against his shoulder, but Naruto didn't mind one bit. He nodded.

"It's a good skill to have," Naruto murmured to her. He was looking down at Sasuke speculatively, rubbing his chin. "Actually, I might even have a bit of a practise when I get some time. There are a few good ones that might come in handy. I'd love to learn some of the space-time barriers, but a lot of them require some tricky fuinjutsu, and I completely suck at that."

"You're not good at something? No way!" Yuuka mock-gasped, lowering her book and craning her neck upwards to grin at him.

"Oh, I suck at Fuinjutsu," Naruto admitted. He shook his head, smiling wryly. "It takes a lot of effort to stuff up storage seals to the point where they explode like a class-2 explosive tag, but I did it anyway."

Yuuka chuckled, and Naruto smiled. Then, he stilled and glanced up at the sky. A carrier pigeon was descending towards him, carrying a message strapped to its leg. It landed on the branch, and Naruto gingerly took the bird's leg and untied the message. He read it.

"Wrap it up, guys," he called out. Yuuka straightened up, and Naruto felt a pang at the loss of the warmth. He shook it off as he climbed to his feet. "We've got a mission."

* * *

><p>Naruto had a sinking sensation that it wasn't going to be a standard mission when his orders had instructed for his team to assemble in the Hokage's Office instead of one of the standard briefing rooms. All of Sigma Team stood in a semi-circle around the Hokage's desk, masked, robed, and ready for combat. Naruto stood in the centre, his arms folded, while the Hokage sat behind his desk surveying a series of documents.<p>

"This is a report from the Department of Intelligence," the Hokage spoke up. His voice was hoarse, and he gave a couple of coughs to clear his throat. "The analysis of the explosive tags used during the suicide attack during the Chunin Exams has been completed."

The Hokage passed it to Naruto, who took it and read over it carefully. The young ANBU captain nodded sagely to himself, and then gave a startled cry as a book slammed into his mask, sending him staggering back, although he was able to keep on his feet.

"Liar," the Hokage scoffed, retracting his extended arm.

He passed on a second document to Kage, who took it with a respectful nod. Grumbling, Naruto fell back into formation as the Hokage continued speaking.

"The samples have indicated that the explosive tags used in the attack were not Manufactorium stock," the Hokage reported. He took a deep breath and smoothed over the red and white conical hat on top of his head. "Normally this would indicate that they were homemade, possibly by an enemy shinobi, but the analysts are quite confident that the explosive tags were made in bulk, possibly from a sheet of at least a dozen.

A ripple of surprise ran through the circle of listening ANBU. The manufacture of explosive tags was well-known throughout the Elemental Countries, and any individual shinobi could, with patience, craft their own. It was a time-demanding process that took far more effort than expected. A skilled shinobi that could, in a day, craft four or five explosive tags, was doing well.

The process of manufacturing explosive tags in bulk through the use of printing presses, however, was far trickier. The Great Villages had experimented with the process for decades, but it seemed like there was simply no cost-effective way to do it. Only one institution had ever managed to decipher the process- and they guarded the closely-guarded with a legion of samurai warriors and intense security measures.

The Manufactorium.

Explosive tags were one of most effective tools in the arsenal of a shinobi, and Konoha spent vast amounts of money importing them in from the Manufactorium. To think that another organisation had deciphered the secret was alarming, especially considering that whoever it was had been quite willing to sell them to enemies of the Village.

Naruto clenched his fists. "Do we know who, Hokage-sama?" he asked quietly.

The Hokage shook his head as he placed the folder back on his table. He picked up a loose piece of paper and passed it over to Kage. "We have a single lead. His name is Akiyama Minoru."

Kage passed around a set of photos to the team. Naruto took it, and looked at the picture of the brown-haired man. He looked rather cheerful, and he was giving a happy wave. He immediately spotted callouses on Minoru's hands, and the tanned, rough skin of his arms.

"Minoru is a small landowner of a winery 140 kilometres south from Border City. A year ago, he presented a sample of his best wine and was awarded minor noble status. Before that, however, Minoru was an engineer working for Gato Corporation and an amateur inventor." The Hokage rubbed his chin, fingers plucking at his goatee. "Minoru made an appointment with the Fire Court a little over three months regarding one of his inventions. However, the night before his appearance, Minoru apparently made a faux pas in front of the Fire Lady and immediately left the Capital in disgrace."

The Hokage gestured at one last piece of paper.

"A week ago, our agents in the Capital sent over a bundle of documents sorted by key words. One of them was a patent request by Minoru. It suggests that he may be in possession of a machine that can create explosive tags in bulk." The Hokage gave Naruto a steady look. "Your mission is as follows: you are to infiltrate Minoru's winery, search for evidence of any such machine. If you find it, you are to immediately confiscate it and bring it to Konoha, along with Minoru himself. Understood?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama," Team Sigma chorused as one.

"Good." Sarutobi gave a short nod. "Dismissed."

* * *

><p>Border Town was the largest city in the western region of the Land of Fire, situated on the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rain. The large city still bore many of the walls and fortifications from the Second Great Shinobi War. The perpetual monsoon seasons of the Land of Rain bled off into the area, making it a very fertile region, and it was had one of the biggest agricultural outputs of the Elemental Countries. Farms stretched hundreds of kilometres south of the city towards the border of River Country, rows upon rows of crops carefully maintained by the civilian populace. Cattle grazed on open grasslands, and vineyards stretched over the hilly crops.<p>

Team Sigma stayed off the main, cobbled road and stuck to the fields, darting through fields of corn of wheat, skimming over paddies of rice, and dodging rather startled livestock. They had left Konoha in the early afternoon and they had made good time at a rather brisk pace. The sun was only beginning to set as Team Sigma approached Minoru's farm and fanned out amongst the vineyard, hiding behind the rows of wooden stakes and purple grapes.

_: Fan out – search pattern – avoid detection – remain in two-pair visual : _Naruto signed with his hands.

Without a sound, and staying in the shadow of the vineyard, the ANBU squad stealthily approached the modest two-story cottage ahead. Smoke billowed from the chimney, and the upstairs lights were on, but it didn't seem like anybody was outside. It was clear that while the family had been granted the title, they did not have the status of lifestyle typical of the nobility.

There was a large shed behind the cottage, made from dull-brown brick and seemingly heavily reinforced. The grass and plants around it had withered and died, and piles of broken glass, spooled wire and scrap metal surrounded it. The doors themselves were made of thick metal. Naruto gestured at Daichi, and pointed at the shed. The Hyuuga nodded and peered forward, his _byakugan_ obviously activating from underneath his mask.

A moment later, he shook his head.

_: Advance – Yuuka and I will take point – cover :_ Naruto signed.

The ANBU team glided forward, avoiding the clearing around the cottage and approaching the shed from behind. The sun was dipping behind the hills now, and the stars were beginning to twinkle as darkness settled upon the land. Yuuka took to Naruto's right and the two ANBU agents approached the shed. He inspected the lock, and then motioned Daichi forward.

The Hyuuga crept forward, his cloak blending in with the encroaching darkness, and his eyes surveyed the lock. Very carefully, he raised his fingers and tapped at several parts of the lock. There was a tiny 'click', and something snapped with a soft hiss, and then Daichi nodded.

_: All clear :_ the Hyuuga signed.

Naruto nodded back and together he and Yuuka opened the door a crack and slipped inside the shed.

The first thing that he noticed was the smell. A dozen different scents assaulted his nose at an instance. Oil, grease, rust, cleaners all immediately stood out. Beneath them, though, was the smell of explosives- smoke, burnt ozone and black powder. His eyes scanned up and down the shed. Workbenches had been placed against the wall, each stacked with piles of metal and tools Naruto didn't even know the name of. Boxes of spooled wire had been dumped in the middle of the floor, and large sheets of thick, white ceramic lay against one of the walls. A furnace blazed in one corner, the coals glowing hot-red.

There was no sign of any machine, although Naruto didn't know how big it was supposed to be. He turned to Yuuka, who held her hands in a hand-seal as she concentrated. She was the best sensor that the team had, although not as good as the Hunter Squad. The blonde-haired girl was concentrating, and she held the held the hand-seal for a full minute. Naruto stalked around the shed as she did so, carefully surveying each item. Then, Yuuka broke out of her stance and reached into her cloak. She pulled out a small metal kit, which she opened and took out a series of paper strips. She handed half of them to Naruto, and took the other half herself.

Naruto took the strips and began to dab them on the various workbenches, scraping at the residue and then placing them in a small bag. He got all of the workbenches, many of the tools and even the inside of the furnace- although that one was done quite quickly. Between the two of them, they went through about fifty strips in less than five minutes. Yuuka took the bag from him, and then made the hand-seal again. Inky-black writing appeared on the bag, crawling over the clear plastic like spiders. It gave off a yellow glow for a few moments, and then the seal formula abruptly disappeared.

Yuuka reached into her cloak again, pulled out a notebook and opened it up.

_: Possible Match found- residue here greatly resembles sample – 80% accuracy :_ she signed.

Naruto considered that as the two of them made their way out of the shed

_: Apprehend suspect, restrain everybody : _

* * *

><p>The unsuspecting family didn't know what was happening until it was too late.<p>

One moment, the family of five- one man, one woman who was obviously his wife, two sons under the age of ten and a baby daughter- were sitting down to eat, the next moment their dinner table was surrounded by seven black-cloaked, white-masked ANBU. The animal masks leered down at the terrified family, which froze for a split-second- and that was the time the shinobi needed. Wire and gags were placed in each of the civilian's mouths. The woman was shrieking in terror, restrained by an even-handed Daichi, while the two children were white with fear. The youngest, no older than six, began to sob as Sasuke wrapped wire his arm and leg firm enough to keep him still.

In less than ten seconds, each member of the family- apart from the baby- was restrained.

Minoru's eyes were bulging as he tried to say something behind his gag. Team Sigma remained silent as Naruto strode to the head of the table, his arms folded. He stared down at the man, although it was less of an incline as he had hoped as Minoru's height even sitting down as almost as tall as Naruto was.

"We are Konoha's ANBU," Naruto introduced himself quietly. He swallowed down his emotions, ignoring the shaking children, and steadied himself.

Chains rattled in his ears.

Minoru looked even more terrified. He tried to say something else, his muffled voice indecipherable behind the gag.

"In a moment, I will tell my teammate to remove your gag. You will not talk. You will not move. You will sit there and answer my questions. If you lie, or you refuse to answer, my friend will enter your mind and take the information by force. Do you understand?"

Minoru was breathing very heavily, but he nodded frantically. Naruto gave him a few moments, internally grimacing at the heavy-handedness of it all. He didn't want to take the risk of a Yamanaka interrogation causing permanent mental damage, or worse, tripping a fail-safe within the man's mind. Civilians were much more susceptible to the negative side effects of such intrusive techniques, and this was their only lead.

After a few minutes had passed, Minoru's breathing had calmed and Naruto nodded at Komachi. The woman leaned down and carefully removed the gag in Minoru's mouth. Almost immediately, the man sucked in a huge gulp of air. He looked up and opened his mouth to speak- only to see Naruto raise his hand almost instantly.

"Don't talk," Naruto ordered. "Don't say a word. Only speak when you're asked a question."

Minoru's mouth snapped shut and he nodded fearfully. He exchanged a quick look with his wife, who gazed back at him with panicked, teary eyes. Then he regarded his children, swallowed hard, and looked back at Naruto determinedly.

"Two weeks ago, there was an attack during the Chunin Exams," Naruto stated. "A man came into the arena and detonated several explosive tags on his person. Do you know of the incident I'm talking about?"

Minoru nodded slowly, then licked his lips and replied in a hoarse voice. "Yes."

"The explosive tags were produced in bulk from a machine not in the possession of the Manufactorium," Naruto continued. "Our intelligence led us to here. Our tests show that the residue from the explosive tags greatly resembles the residue in your workshop. Do you understand?"

Minoru swallowed. "Yes," he answered weakly.

Naruto smiled thinly behind his mask. "Explain."

"I…that is…" Minoru took a deep breath. "I invented a printing press that can make explosive tags. I tried to present it to the Fire Court but I was…" here he slightly reddened. "… I was removed from the Capital before I could make the presentation. When I got home, somebody had left a message. They were interested in my device and were willing to sponsor me, but in return they needed to test the explosive tags and have them examined."

"Who?" Naruto asked crisply.

"I don't know," Minoru replied, and then his face became desperate and Naruto rose from his seat. "I don't! All I was told that it was an anonymous, interested member of the Court!"

"You didn't think that was suspicious?" Naruto asked sceptically.

"I was desperate!" Minoru shot back, his voice rising. He clenched his teeth. "Ever since the Blitz, the Vineyard has been doing poorly. Nobody wants wine in a time of war! I have debts to…" here he hesitated, "…to some very unpleasant people. This benefactor paid good money for a hundred explosive tags, and promised more if they were satisfactory!"

"I was there when they detonated," Naruto replied a tad sharply. "Trust me, they work just fine."

Minoru flushed.

"Where's the machine?" Naruto asked.

"Upstairs in my study," Minoru answered quietly. "Please. I'll show it to you. You can take it. Just leave my family out of this. I'm not a traitor, or a terrorist, or an enemy! He said he was from of the Royal Court!"

Naruto nodded at Komachi and she removed the wire from Minoru. The noble gingerly rubbed his wrists as Naruto stood up.

"Take me to the machine."

It was much smaller than Naruto had expected. Rather than fill up an entire room, or even half, it was compact enough to fit on a wooden desk. With a rectangular base, it was the size of a shoebox, composed gears and bolts and a large cylinder wrapped around a carved engraving. A crank-handle jutted out from one side, and there was a battery jutted out from the other. Naruto looked at it carefully. It was a chakra battery, a terminal capable of a charge of chakra for about three months before dissipating. They were rather rare, as the batteries were only good for one use.

"How does it make explosive tags?" Naruto asked.

Minoru pointed to a roll of paper on the floor. "Put in the paper in one end, turn the battery on, wind the handle, feed the paper through and voila, explosive tags." He smiled grimly. "I can make a dozen explosive tags a day before the battery fails."

Naruto nodded thoughtfully. The device looked rather fragile, so he asked, "Does it have a carry case?"

Minoru nodded and walked over to the cupboard. From it, he pulled out a large, stout metal case. He very carefully placed the device inside it and closed the lid with a click. He then handed it to Naruto.

"Now what?" he asked quietly.

"You're going to have to come with me," Naruto admitted. "Konoha will want to debrief you. Your family can come too. No doubt, you'll find that an excellent job is waiting for you in Konoha's Department of Research and Development. Probably highly-paid, too."

"This is my family home," Minoru said, clenching his fists. "I can't leave it."

"You will," Naruto rebuked coldly. "This is not a request. You _will_ come with us. Your knowledge is too valuable to leave it undefen-"

There was a shudder. The windowpane rattled within the frame and Naruto paused. The stars and the moon were shining brightly, but there was a flicker of movement and suddenly something blotted out the light streaming in from the window. Naruto's eyes widened and he grabbed Minoru, yanking the man down.

An instant later, the wall exploded as something pulverised it through sheer force. It tore through the wooden desk, missing Naruto and Minoru by mere centimetres as it rocketed through the house, destroying everything in its path. Wooden splinters and broken plaster drifted to the ground as Naruto staggered to his feet, his hands flipping through hand-seals, his heart racing.

He reared his head back and shot out a narrow stream of flame. It lanced through the air, striking another one of the objects and slicing it in two, briefly illuminating it as it did so. It was a giant, misshapen boulder, hurled towards the house with great force and power. The two pieces fell short of the house and slammed into the front yard with a thump. Downstairs, Naruto could hear the wails of a baby, and he swivelled around.

Minoru was gone.

"Fuck!" Naruto swore.

He grabbed the carry case and used the strap to fit it to his back. Then he dashed through the broken remains of the room and kicked apart the broken wooden floorboards beneath him, making a hole large enough to squeeze downstairs from. He landed in a crouch, just in time to see Sasuke throw a series of kunai around the room. The Uchiha clasped his hands, and blue light surged from the tags on the hilts of the kunai.

_Barrier Technique: 5-folded Two-Prong Seal!_

An instant later, a terribly-powerful lightning technique blasted apart the kitchen. Naruto was blinded, his eyes stringing as a purple wave of destruction slammed into them all. The bluish barrier flickered and wobbled, but it held even as the lightning tore everything around them into tiny parts. The house groaned and creaked, and the top floor began to fall onto its side, luckily on the other end away from the kitchen.

"Incoming!" Daichi yelled.

There was a blur of movement, and Towa and Kage were ready to meet it. Steel clashed on steel as Kage parried a blow to the side, sparks flying through the air. From the flames around them, the assailant was quite clear. Cloaks as dark as their own, and wearing a solid, one-piece mask made from brushed chrome, the enemy was quite skilled with his long, thin rapier. Towa held back another enemy, his scarlet seals formed into the shape of a hefty shield, holding back a kunai that would have been driven into his chest.

_Wind Release: Great Wind Breakthrough!_

Naruto swept out his hands and a mighty gust tore through the air. Smoke, fire, debris and half the front of the house disappeared underneath the power of the windstorm, blown far away, although the shinobi in front of him kept their balance, anchored by the chakra running through the soles of their feet. It was enough to get a good picture of who they were facing. Four enemy agents, each in a solid, one-pieced mask of dull chrome, fought against Team Sigma. Kage, Komachi, Towa and Daichi had met them head on, while Sasuke knelt on one knee, panting from exertion of the barrier technique he had just summoned. Beyond them, in the distance, Naruto could see two more enemy-nin, obviously the long range specialist on their team.

In the next five seconds, a dozen things happened at once. Kage and his opponent met with in a cacophony of metal striking metal, their movements a blur even as Kage was pushed back by a superior opponent. In turn, Daichi had landed a lucky hit, his identity as a Hyuuga hidden by his mask, and the _Jyuuken_ strikes had caused an audible and clearly feminie hiss when the enemy chose to block instead of dodge.

Towa was being driven into the ground, huddling behind his shield unable to even use the _Replacement Technique _to escape. The scarlet light flickered around him as his thin, lithe opponent danced around him, weapons flashing. Dual kunai sliced into the shield, the opponent used the momentum of block to jump and deliver a roundhouse kick with a blade built into the heel of their shoe. Then they hurled the kunai at Towa's head, clutched a fistful of senbon and chucked them at Towa's exposed shins, yanked back on the wires hidden in their sleeves and pulled the two kunai back into their palm just as they landed on a ground in a crouch, ready to attack again.

It was only Yuuka's intervention that kept Towa alive as he collapsed, his legs riddled with senbon, and the wiry genjutsu user made a single hand-seal and produced an auditory illusion, a single, high-pierced whine that blasted in the ears of the dual-kunai wielder, disrupting the incessant barrage against Towa's defence and allowing him to jump back.

Komachi had taken to the shattered remains of the roof and she and her opponent were dancing amongst the twisted beams of the roof. Her opponent held an orb of light in their hand, and with every strike and blow, a crackle of lightning would strike out at something. This was forcing Komachi to dodge every strike rather than dodge or parry, and she struggled to keep her distance as she peppered her opponent with senbon.

In that time, the two long ranged fighters had finished making their seals, just as Naruto had finished his own, slamming his hand on the ground.

_Summoning Technique: Arise, Titan!_

The ground between the fight and the long-distance fights shuddered, cracking and breaking apart. A large hand of rock, covered in tar and with veins of molten rock, burst from the ground. It was four times as large as a man, and its fingers flexed menacingly. Another giant hand burst out of the ground ten metres away. The hands pressed on the ground and it gave way, deep impressions being left in the earth as it moved in a manner of somebody pulling themselves up from the ground. Then, the ground between the two arms was torn apart in a geyser of flying rock and a giant head of stone emerged from beneath. It was a distorted mimicry of the human skull, its eye sockets filled with molten rock and its sharpened teeth curved into a twisted vestige of a smile. Steam rose into the air, and the surroundings became very hot.

It rose just in time to block a series of devastating lightning-release techniques. Bolts of sapphire and azure power slammed into the titan, tearing through its rocky hide. One of the searing beams sliced into the left arm of the titan, severing it and leaving a stump oozing and bubbling with molten rock. Another punctured the top part of the skull, blowing a chunk the size of Naruto away. The barrage ended a few moments later, the titan having successfully blocked the attacks.

The titan's head turned a full one-hundred and eighty degrees. Its caved in skull leered at the four enemies trapped between it and Team Sigma. Naruto continued to control the construct, his hands darting through the hand-seals rapidly as its one good hand rose up as if to strike at the nearest enemy. An instant later, thunder cracked through the air and the arm was reduced to a thousand tiny flying pieces of debris as something struck it from behind. Another technique struck the head, tearing through the rock with ease, but the molten rock dribbling from it merely darkened and became hard, keeping the construct intact.

_Fire Release: Titan's Roar!_

At the same time as Naruto completed the technique, he sent a single, large pulse through the ANBU tattoo on his shoulder. At once, Team Sigma retreated towards him, Towa limping as he did so. The titan's mouth glowed with an ominous red, and then from it came a billowing cloud of fire that swept across the ground, consuming everything in its path. The enemy shinobi jumped away from it, and two of them began to pepper it with kunai and explosive tags, while the other two tried to flank on the other side of Team Sigma.

"We're retreating," Naruto growled between gritted teeth, his hand twisted into the serpent seal. "Daichi, survivors?"

_: Family deceased – Suspect thirty metres behind us, underneath a beam – severe injuries, survival unlikely :_ Daichi signed.

"Fall back," Naruto ordered. "Komachi, light up the workshop. Kage, take Towa. Daichi, take Sasuke. Yuuka, provide a smokescreen. Go!"

In a flash of movement, Team Sigma moved. Even burdened with the extra weight, Kage and Daichi didn't seem to slow down as they grabbed their teammates and sprinted away from the burning cottage in an instant. Huge clouds of billowing smoke exploded around them, and there was a loud shudder and boom as the workshop went up in flames.

The retreat took five seconds.

The fight had barely lasted thirty.

Naruto was the last to leave, the portable machine strapped to his back. He dropped his hands and let the chakra-consuming technique dissipate even as the acrid smell of smoke filled his nostrils. He darted past the wreckage, only pausing at the partially-crushed body of Minoru. The man stared up at him with pained eyes, and Naruto ruthlessly forced down any emotion he felt as he knelt by the body and, with a quick flick of the wrist, calmly slit his throat. He slapped an explosive tag to the man's forehead and then darted away.

A second later, a deafening explosion rocked the ground and little bits of flying debris slapped against his back. Naruto ignored it, laying down another series of explosive tags as he ran just as more smoke bombs went off, securing his team's retreat. A gnawing sensation filled his gut as the vineyards around them began to burn, and huge plumes of smoke filled the air.

Despite the strategic value of the package on his back, Naruto didn't like to retreat- but he knew when to cut his losses. Team Sigma had been routed, but they had secured the package and completed their mission.

* * *

><p>A few hours later, Team Sigma arrived back in Konoha. They were covered in soot and dust, and they smelt like smoke and fire. Apart from a quick five minute break, they had not stopped until they had reached the village, and each member was exhausted and tired. Nonetheless, they trudged after the ANBU Squad sent to escort them to the Hokage's Office.<p>

Inside, the Hokage watched them from behind his desk. The lights had been dimmed, and the glow of his pipe was noticeable in the darkened room.

"Report."

As his squad mates stood around him, Naruto obeyed, explaining their investigation, his interrogation of Minoru, the revelation of the portable printing press and the attack from the unknown enemy squad. He hesitated at his decision to retreat.

"I felt that the machine we had obtained was too valuable to risk it in a fight," Naruto justified to the Hokage. His back was stiff and there was a bitter taste in his mouth as he spoke. "And, to be honest, the enemy had us on the ropes. They were extremely skilled." He smiled thinly. "They might have been better than us, Hokage-sama. Even though a live prisoner would have been useful, I don't know if we could have won that fight."

The Hokage nodded sombrely. "You made the right choice, Captain," he said quietly. "You made the completion of the mission and the survival of your squad a priority, and here you have returned with both intact. Well done."

Naruto took the compliment with a nod. The Hokage eyed the rest of Team Sigma.

"Dismissed," he said quietly. "Report to Medical. I want After-Action reports from all of you by tomorrow morning."

"Hokage-sama!" Team Sigma chorused.

Sasuke was the last to leave, his eyes lingering on Naruto, and then he disappeared in a whirl of leaves.

Sarutobi clicked his fingers are Naruto wasn't surprised to see two ANBU Captains appeared before him. Bird and Cat, the latter's long, purple hair visible from behind her mask, crouched before their leader.

"Take your platoons and scour the area," the old man ordered curtly. "Find the shinobi who attacked Sigma Team. Apprehend them if you can, kill if them if you must. Go."

"Sir!" They both saluted and disappeared in a flicker of movement.

Once they were gone, the Hokage sagged into his chair. He played with the pipe in his mouth, puffing away at the tobacco inside of it as he turned to gaze out at the starry night sky.

"You have done well, Naruto," he murmured. "I would have liked to take Minoru alive, but the acquisition of this machine is a tremendous boon to the village. If we can backwards-engineer it, we can begin the construction of our own explosive tags. We can save millions."

"Yes, sir." Naruto was tired, falling back on formalities.

"This machine, however…" Sarutobi puffed on his pipe and swivelled on his chair. "Are you sure that the workshop was completely destroyed?"

Naruto nodded. "They won't have enough time to dig through too much of the rubble," he answered tiredly. "They'll have to know reinforcements will head their way, so they'll be gone by the time Bravo and Gamma Team get there."

Sarutobi's lips twitched. "Do you think they'll be caught?" he asked.

Naruto smiled grimly. "No," he answered.

"I concur," the Hokage admitted. He shook his head tiredly and rubbed his eyes. "What a powerful machine," he mused. "It completely changes the face of national security. Any man, without chakra, could sit at home, make an explosive tag and use it wherever they want. The implications are staggering."

Naruto was silent.

"And we have no lead on whoever it was that ordered the tags," Sarutobi continued. He puffed on his pipe, and then finally seemed to notice that Naruto was dead on his feet. "Go home, Naruto. Rest." He turned back on his chair to look out at the night sky. "I have the strangest sensation that you're going to need your full strength in the coming events."

Naruto nodded and turned to leave.

"Oh, and Naruto?" Sarutobi called out.

Naruto turned back and the Hokage gave him a genuine smile.

"Well done on your _Titan Technique_," the old man praised. "I hadn't realised that you were onto the third stage already."

"It needs work. Those lightning techniques tore it to pieces and I couldn't reform it," Naruto admitted. "Plus, it was tiny- not something you'd fight a Class 5 Summon with."

"With time, Naruto." Sarutobi chuckled. "Now go home and shower. You smell."

Naruto left them, leaving the Third Hokage sitting alone in the dimly lit room, staring thoughtfully off into the distance.


	36. Return

**A/N: My apologies- I've actually had this written and up on DLP for about two months, but I forgot that I hadn't put it here. I've got some time off until the end of the month, so I'm hoping I can nut out the rest of this arc- maybe another five or six chapters- and well as the start of the next arc. Or not. I'm kind of bored, to be honest, and that doesn't help the muse at all.  
><strong>

**We'll see**

* * *

><p>In the following weeks, the sudden ambush and subsequent retreat of Team Sigma was unnoticed by all. Whatever explanation or excuse was made for deaths of Akiyama Minoru and his families was completely overshadowed by the dramatic rise of civil unrest that plagued the nation. All throughout the land of fire, the civilian populace rose up in protest of one minor scandal to another.<p>

Chunin Military Police officers were caught accepting bribes. Protest.

Konoha shinobi collateral damage destroyed the crops of a farmer. Protest.

Konoha shinobi were too slow in apprehending a pirate raid off the coast. Protest.

The new levy hit small businesses, gathering monies for the restoration and repair of villages damaged during the Blitz. Protest.

More often than not, they were minor affairs. Disgruntled citizens would gather at the nearest place of authority, shout a few things, and then disperse once Konoha's Military Police arrived to sort them out. Sometimes, it was easy to see the strings that were being played by the nobility, as both minor and major nobles used the rumbling discontent to their own advantage, playing citizens against other nobles, against the Fire Lord or against Konoha itself, purely for their own advantage.

Even Konoha wasn't unaffected. There were mutterings from some of the shinobi. The civilian populace of Konoha was beginning to be viewed suspiciously, and the posters that sometimes appeared for an hour or so before abruptly vanishing did not help.

The Fire Lord had called for calm, and for the most part it seemed to be working. There had been no more wild riots, and very few incidents of citizens acting violently towards the Military Police. When such a thing did occur, it was handled quickly and professionally, the person arrested and detained to await trial.

Despite the lack of violence, the tension was there. Something was festering beneath the surface of the Land of Fire, and all it would take would be a single spark to set it off. As such, there were those who needed to ensure that they would be ready for the oncoming storm.

* * *

><p>"Dodge!"<p>

Naruto darted backwards, avoiding the barrage of shuriken that peppered the ground an instant later. Before he could regain his footing, a blur of movement appeared to his left, and he hastily fucked a kick, before bringing both arms up to block a hefty blow. The force behind it sent him sliding backwards, his sandals scraping against the ground.

Even before he had stopped, Naruto had flipped through two hand-seals and brought his hands up to his lips. He inhaled, reared his head back and spat out fire. It rose up, the air suddenly becoming hot, a giant, spiralling ball of flame three times his height surging forward. Despite the fierce power behind the technique, the blond ANBU knew that the technique would not connect. Nonetheless, he hadn't used it with the intention of wounding his opponent, and between the raging fires, the smoke and heat, Naruto was able to escape using the _Body Replacement_.

It was a good escape, and one performed just in time. A few moments later, the perfect sphere of flames was gutted and its form collapsed, a giant, writhing mass of flame falling upon the ground, grass and shrubs catching alight. A loud-pitch whine filled the air as two streaks of water burst through the flames and caught the log that Naruto had replaced himself with dead on. They high-pressurised bullets of water pulverised the wood, smashing it into splinters.

From his new position on one of the many trees that surrounded the clearing, Naruto watched on. He was panting, his brow sweaty, and his limbs shaky. Fighting against such opponent was tiring. Nonetheless, blind stubbornness kept him going on.

_Lightning Release: Electromagnetic Murder!_

He slapped his hand on the branch as he channelled lightning chakra through his fingertips. Wood creaked and groaned as a furious discharge of surging bolts tore through it, racing towards the ground. It left the base of the tree in a surge, tearing apart the earth and shattering stone as it roared towards the fiery mess in the centre of the clearing. A large figure was casually lumbering out of it, and the lightning screeched as it smashed upon a hefty, spiked shield.

A large toad stood there, unconcerned with the fire around it. Four times as tall as Naruto, its horizontal-slatted eyes appearing unconcerned, it was lumbered on forward, batting away the lightning-release technique with its bone-like shield as easily as one would swat a fly. Jiraiya sat on top of it, giggling and blushing as he poured over some kind of magazine, his left hand holding it up and his right hand taking notes on a small, spiral-bound notepad.

The toad's hind legs tensed, and Naruto's eyes widened. He darted to the right, using a nearby tree branch to launch himself away from where he had been standing. The large toad smashed onto the tree, its webbed hand coming down and slicing through the trunk like it was paper. Naruto smiled grimly as he landed on another tree, his right hand up and making a single hand seal.

_Detonate!_

The explosive tags that he had left on the tree began to glow and crackle. In a second, they would explode right around the toad.

It would be a second too late.

With a surge of speed, the toad grabbed the cracked and falling tree branch that Naruto had laid his explosive tags on and hurled it straight at him. Naruto's eyes widened as the branch came towards him, the explosive tags primed and just about to explode. He had an instant to react, or to escape, and he quickly reversed the hand-seal.

_Dispel!_

The tags glowed and exploded, but instead of the great gouts of fire only smoke came from them. Naruto felt a measure of relief that he had managed to disable the tags. Then he was hit in the face with a branch. His mask took the brunt of the attack, but it still sent him flying from the tree and he landed on the ground roughly, bouncing once or twice before stopping.

The giant toad landed above him, its shield raised above its head, poised to slam down on him. His back aching, Naruto gritted his teeth and slammed his hand down on the ground.

_Earth Release: Earth Flow River!_

The ground beneath the toad liquefied and began to flow like a river. The current caused the toad the stumble and the shield missed him by metres, slamming into the ground next to him. On his back, Naruto flipped through some more signs and slammed his palms on the ground.

_Summoning Technique: Arise, Titan!_

The ground rumbled even as the toad regained its footing, and suddenly Naruto was forced up into the air as a mountain of rock beneath him tore its way free from the ground. Two large hands emerged first, covered in thick, oozing tar, with veins of fire. Then came the upper chest, reinforced by thick slabs of granite, thick goblets of molten rock dropping from the crevices in the stone. Finally, the head came last, a human skull made of stone with a leering, frozen smile of razor-sharp teeth and two eye sockets filled with flame.

On top of that head stood Naruto, his hands twisted in a single hand-seal and his face scrunched up with an intense look of concentration. His cracked mask dangled from his belt, and his dirty and muddied cloak flapped about him. The Titan rose to the toad's height, steam rising from its very form as the moisture in the soil and air evaporated almost instantly.

On top of the toad, Jiraiya had stopped pouring over his book and regarded the construct in front of him with narrowed eyes. Naruto could see him stroking his chin, and talking quietly to his own mount. The toad nodded and dashed forward, closing the distance in two huge leaps and bringing its shield down upon the construct of earth and fire with tremendous force.

The Titan's left arm rose and it blocked the blow- but just barely. The shield smashed into the rock and chipped off a huge chunk of the forearm, lodging itself halfway through the arm of the Titan. 'Blood' of red-hot magma dripped from the wound and the toad recoiled, yanking at shield futilely. The Titan raised its right hand and reared back, delivering a slow but mighty blow. The toad copped it right on the head, and while the momentum of the punch sent it flying backwards, it also allowed the toad to wrench the shield out of the Titan's arm.

Naruto made a single hand-seal, his smile grim.

_Fire Release: Titan's Roar!_

The titan's mouth glowed with an ominous red light, and then from it came a huge gout of flame that made Naruto's previous fire-release techniques look like the light of a candle. The toad, still dazed by the blow, watched on helplessly- but then Jiraiya made a move. The _Sannin_ flipped through some hand-seals and a giant slab of earth rose up in front of the toad. It had been positioned in such a way that made it divert the gout of flame rather than outright block it, and while the Titan's roar did envelop a large part of the forest with fire, it left Jiraiya and his summon untouched.

Naruto was panting, glaring.

"I think that's enough!" Jiraiya's voice called over the distance. He patted his summon on the head, murmured something to it and then watched as the large toad disappeared with a puff of smoke.

His veins burning with chakra, his adrenaline raging, Naruto wanted to keep the battle going. Nonetheless, he slapped his hand on the Titan and the fires within it died down. The glow of light disappeared from the Titan's eyes and it began to crumble, massive slabs of earth falling apart and turning into soil and earth. Almost five seconds later, only a mound of slightly-warm earth stood where the massive construct had been, and Naruto moved down to join Jiraiya back in the clearing.

The fires that Naruto had originally started had almost gone out with very little damage, which was understandable. Fires created with chakra very rarely lasted longer than a few minutes, needing fuel, oxygen _and _more chakra to sustain itself, while the plants in Training Ground One had been created by the First Hokage himself, and were able to withstand much more than the usual forest.

The young blond flopped down onto the ground with a sigh as Jiraiya chuckled, coming to sit down cross-legged next to the ANBU Captain.

"You're getting good with that thing," he remarked, ruffling Naruto's hair despite the youngster's muttered protests. "If you could finally get it to walk, you'd be able to counter most of the summons out there."

"I know," Naruto muttered. He was scowling.

Despite his best attempts, his progress with the Titan Summoning Technique had stalled. He could only make it about six metres tall before it collapsed in on itself. While it was an impressive construct, its lack of mobility was a severe disadvantage in a real fight. Naruto had only mastered the one long distance attack, which could be easily blocked, and the Titan still couldn't turn very well, which meant that flanking manoeuvres were definitely a weakness. Combined with Naruto's inability to use other techniques with most of his attention focussed on the Titan, the construct, while appearing formidable, had a number of weaknesses that Naruto needed to fix.

"Ah, cheer up!" Jiraiya said cheerfully, knocking Naruto out of his critical thinking with a gentle clap on the back. "Here, have this."

He held out a flavoured ice-block. Naruto looked at the proffered treat with a raised eyebrow, but he nonetheless took it.

"Thanks," he said quietly.

Jiraiya smiled and mussed up Naruto's hair, smiling as the boy swatted at his hands ineffectively. There was a moment of peace between them as the two of them sat there quietly, eating away at their frozen treats. Jiraiya finished first, licking his lips and letting out a huge breath.

"Anyway, now that we're finished sparring…" Jiraiya began, and he turned to Naruto with a mischievous smile. "Did you wanna see something cool?"

Naruto's eyebrows rose. Something cool? He nodded silently, even as he thought about what that could mean. Despite his eccentricities, Jiraiya was a Sannin, and his knowledge, power and skill were right up there with the Third Hokage. Was it going to be an earth technique? Maybe a fire technique? Perhaps the vaunted Toad Sage abilities that Naruto had only ever heard whispers of.

Jiraiya grinned and slammed his hands down on the ground. A second later, there was a flash of smoke and a small, red toad appeared. It eyed Jiraiya with what seemed like reproach but nonetheless allowed the Toad Sage to pick it up and place it on his lap.

"This is a technique that allows me to see through the eyes of my summon," Jiraiya murmured as he stroked the toad's back. "Put your hand here."

Fascinated, Naruto placed a hand on the toad. He winced as his vision wavered and went fuzzy, and suddenly here was looking at _two_ different sets of images in his mind. It was hard to differentiate between them as the images overlapped with each other, but Naruto carefully tried to analyse them each in turn. One set of images was from where he was sitting, of dirt and grass and a smiling Toad Sage.

The other set…was that steam? A wooden fence, and small shrubs. Something wet- water? And was that somebody coming? Fabric was dropped and Naruto caught a flash of bare flesh. He jerked back, horrified, his cheeks flushing and his mouth flopping up and down as he temporarily lost the ability to form words.

Jiraiya roared with laughter.

"W-What the hell?" Naruto spluttered. His cheeks felt warm, and he felt tremendously embarrassed and mortified- yet strangely fascinated nonetheless. "What the hell was that?"

"That was my research," Jiraiya grinned. He gestured at the front invitingly. "Come on, have another look. Nobody will _ever _know."

Naruto stared at him, horrified. "This is really creepy," he muttered.

Nonetheless, he shuffled back closer to the Toad Sage, his cheeks red, and he tentatively reached out for the toad. Just as his fingers grazed the summon's back, it promptly disappeared in a flash of smoke and a mournful corak.

"Ah, Tsunade found the other one," Jiraiya murmured. He gave an uneasy smile and jumped hastily to his feet. "So, looks like I need to check out something. See you later, Naruto!"

He promptly disappeared in a flicker of movement that Naruto was barely able to see. He sat there, his cheeks slowly regaining their normal colour, staring at the back of the retreating Sannin. Naruto sighed, rubbing the back of his head, still feeling quite confused.

He finished off his ice-block, and was just about to get up and begin training again when a terrible presence bore down on him. He whirled around, his heart racing, as something incredibly powerful approached him. It was full of righteous anger and terrible wrath, and was horrifyingly familiar. Naruto just sighed in resignation and turned away. An instant later, Tsunade landed in the Training Ground, her form wreathed with golden fire, her fists clenched and the veins in her forehead throbbing.

Before she could say anything, Naruto pointed to the left.

"He went that way," he proclaimed dully.

Tsunade scoffed as she followed his finger. She seemed to making some calculations in her head, and the conclusions she reached made her tremble in anger.

"That slippery little bastard," she growled. Her fists clenched and the golden fire around her became even more pronounced, but then she sighed and it faded away. She turned to Naruto, regarding him with suspicious eyes. "Hey, brat! Didn't I feel your chakra as well?"

Naruto's mouth opened and the lie that came out was so smooth that he almost half-believed it himself.

"No," he said flawlessly. "I was training here, so maybe some of my chakra caused some interference or something. I wasn't doing anything."

Tsunade cocked her head, considering him carefully. Then she gave him a vicious smile, looking down at him. "So you didn't see _anything_?"

Naruto paused, his eyes unconsciously lowering to her cleavage, and his cheeks gave the slightest flush.

Tsunade twitched, her fingers giving a little spasm, and she chuckled hoarsely. "Doing some training, huh?" she practically purred, stalking towards him like a hunter towards its prey.

Naruto backed away uneasily, gulping.

"Well, if my good-for-nothing teammate has the time to help you out, maybe I should as well," Tsunade continued, smiling dangerously as she moved closer and closer to Naruto.

"Oh, no, I couldn't possibly-" Naruto began hastily.

"I insist," Tsunade interrupted, rubbing her hands with something that looked like malicious glee. "I have a great exercise for you. Let's play a game, Naruto."

"What type of game?" Naruto asked, already feeling like he was going to regret the answer.

"Ever heard of a game called dodge ball?"

"Yeah," Naruto answered slowly, eyes wide.

Tsunade smiled, raised her foot and stomped on the ground. It shuddered and rumbled, a fissure appearing where her heel had struck the ground, and Naruto watched with wide eyes as a jagged rock twice as large as he shot out of the ground. The legendary Sannin caught it effortlessly, holding it in one hand, leering down at Naruto with a truly dangerous expression.

"It's like that," she said sweetly. "Except I use _this_. I call it 'dodge rock'."

Naruto stared at the boulder and gulped. "Fuck," he uttered morosely.

"Oi, Naruto," Tsunade called out, a wicked smile on her face. She drew back her arm, her golden eyes flashing. "_Dodge!_"

* * *

><p>"Ow… wait… no, don't do…ah!"<p>

Naruto winced as Tsunade ruthlessly pulled out yet another splinter from his back, not seeming to care about his feeble protests one bit. The 'game' had gone on for about fifteen minutes, and in the end it had left Naruto utterly exhausted and trembling, his clothes in tatters, his armour heavily dented and his supply of kunai and shuriken turned into scrap. Tsunade had thrown pretty everything at him except the kitchen sink- and if Training Ground One had possessed a kitchen, she would have chucked that at him as well.

From boulders, she had moved onto branches, then entire trees, swinging them around with the ease as one might swing a fly-swatter to kill a bug. Nothing Naruto had pulled out seemed to have stopped her- she had even backhanded his Titan into a thousand pieces and thrown its rapidly-crumbling head at him with enough force to leave a large crater in the side of the cavern.

Whoever said Tsunade was a close-combat specialist had never seen her throw a rock the size of a house a good hundred metres.

In the end, Naruto had ended up pinned underneath said rock, unable to move his limbs as Tsunade towered over him. She had smiled down sweetly at him and asked if the view had been worth all of this effort.

Privately, Naruto thought that it rather had.

At least the Sannin had been courteous enough to drag him to the hospital, and she had even started patching him up. It was pleasant, mind you, but no other doctor would have gone near him, so he was just grateful that _somebody_ was tending to his wounds.

Tsunade had made her status as his 'personal physician' quite clear, and nobody in the hospital seemed suicidal enough to contradict her.

"There, almost done," Tsunade said briskly. She ran her glowing hands over his arms, and some of the tension and aches immediately faded as she worked on his forearms. "Tell you what, kid, you can take a hit."

"Practise, I think," Naruto responded dryly.

Tsunade snorted as she continued to run her glowing hands on him. Her deft finger touches left goose bumps on his arms, and he practically sighed in relief as she worked out a kink from his shoulder. It would have healed sooner than later, probably in an hour or so, but there was nothing quite like a medical technique to speed things along.

"Anyway," Tsunade said as she moved behind him. Naruto heard a rustle and the sound of tearing fabric. "What's this I hear about Team Sigma getting a larger roster?"

"We added a new member," Naruto answered. "Uchiha Sasuke. He's been working- gah! That's cold!"

Tsunade ignored him and kept applying the paste to his lacerations. Naruto could feel that some of them were quite deep, but there was really no need to put antibacterial cream on it! He told the medic that, and she snorted.

"I don't care if you can grow back your limbs," she snorted. "I'm your doctor so you'll do as I say."

"Whatever," Naruto muttered sourly.

Tsunade continued on, unconcerned with his darkening mood. "One of the Uchiha in Sigma," she mused quietly. "To think that a member of _that_ clan would be in the squad that acts as the Hokage's personal bodyguards- my uncle would be spinning in his grave."

"He's a good shinobi," Naruto said defensively. His fists clenched. "Don't trash my squad, you old ha- gah!"

Tsunade applied the next patch with a little bit more pressure than what was necessary.

"Watch your mouth, you little punk," she growled, squeezing his shoulder until something creaked.

Naruto turned and glared at her defiantly. She glared back, golden-brown meeting his crystal blue, and then her lips twitched. She sighed and dropped the stare, continuing to wrap a bandage around his shoulder.

"You're a brave, little brat, aren't you?" she asked. There was a note of something in her voice that Naruto couldn't recognise. After a moment, she kept talking, and her voice had softened considerably. "So you get along with all of your teammates?"

Naruto nodded. "They threw me a birthday party the other day," he said. He smiled at the memory of it, and leaned in closer to Tsunade. "I got presents," he confessed. He sounded quite pleased with himself.

Tsunade's mouth was slightly open, and she shook her head and smiled softly at him. "That's good," she replied. "Anything good?"

Naruto nodded. "Four sets of kunai, a spool of wire- the conductive type, really expensive and not on my equipment list, so I have to buy it myself… what else? I got a new whet stone, a pack of barbed senbon, four smoke bombs, and a teddy bear." He paused. "I think Towa was just trying to stuff around, but I like it."

"You have a teddy bear?" Tsunade asked with surprise.

"Yep," Naruto nodded. He slammed his fist in his palm. "We made some modifications, replaced the eyes with a makeshift senbon launcher and stuffed a smoke bomb in its chest. Then we hooked up some wire, and when I got back to the Tower I attached it to the door frame. If Konohamaru comes sneaking in, he's gonna get twenty senbon shoved right up his ar-ghh!"

Tsunade had finished tightening the bandage with an exasperated expression on her face. She shook her head wryly.

"Boys," she murmured fondly. She reached behind her and chucked Naruto a bottle drink that she had somehow hidden in her medical bag. "Drink up."

Naruto took the tonic and took a deep gulp. He shuddered- the vitamin and nutrients might have been 'essential to a growing boy's needs' or whatever, but it tasted truly bad. Couldn't they have added a little bit of sugar to it?

Tsunade was watching him, and as he put down the nearly empty bottle, she reached over and ruffled his hair.

"Gah, why is it always the hair?" Naruto despaired, trying to shield himself from the older woman.

"You," Tsunade proclaimed fondly, "…are a weird kid."

Her hand drifted to his chest, where the First Hokage's pendant sat. He had never really taken it off since the time he had 'acquired' it off of her, and Naruto sometimes honestly forgot that he still had it on. Now that it was in the presence of a Senju, he could feel something within it stir and resonate with Tsunade's touch. The Sannin's fingers ghosted over the priceless jewel.

"Dan would have liked you," she murmured.

Naruto didn't know what to say to that.

Then, she withdrew her hand and scoffed. "Nawaki though," she said sternly, "would have hated you. He'd have kicked your arse."

"He could have tried," Naruto muttered.

Tsunade let out a single laugh and folded her arms over her chest. "He was a fast little shit," she mused. "Faster than any Genin I've ever seen, although there's that one _taijutsu_ genin that comes closer than any others. Come to think of it," and here she eyed him critically, "You've gotten a lot faster since our last spar as well."

That had been a_ spar_?

Naruto vaguely recalled that their 'spar' had left an entire forest devastated and Team Sigma mentally traumatised as Tsunade had picked them apart with her immense strength.

He smiled weakly. "I'm just awesome," he proclaimed somewhat hesitantly. "Or so Yuuka keeps telling me."

"Oh? Tsunade raised an eyebrow, suddenly looking interested. "Who's Yuuka?"

"A teammate," Naruto answered, looking at Tsunade strangely.

"A _girl_ teammate?" Tsunade pressed.

"Yeah," Naruto drawled, nodding slowly. He cocked his head. "Is that a problem?"

"Oh, no," Tsunade shook her head, her smile becoming predatory. "There's no problem, Naruto- but do tell."

"Tell what?" Naruto replied blankly.

"Is she beautiful?" Tsunade asked, her eyes narrowing as she catalogued his every reaction.

Naruto's mouth moved uselessly, and his cheeks flushed. "I'm… I'm totally not having this conversation," he finally responded. He jumped up off of the hospital bed and pressed his ANBU tattoo.

In a puff of smoke, Naruto's dented armour and tattered clothes were replaced with a pair of shorts and a white shirt.

"Have you had the talk yet?" Tsunade mused. "I wonder if I need to go over it with you."

"The talk?" Naruto repeated carefully.

"You know…" Tsunade gestured with her hands. "When a man and a women love each other, they…"

"Oh, fuck no," Naruto swore, and he disappeared in a blazingly fast Body Flicker, leaving the Sannin behind to chuckle quietly to herself.

* * *

><p>Naruto would have liked to take the rest of the day off. He hadn't been rostered on for any missions, he had fulfilled his weekly training requirements in the last two days and he was still pretty exhausted from the rather intense confrontation with Tsunade. Regardless, the bird that soared past his head and dropped a white feather into his hand was rather insistent, and with a sigh Naruto made a hand-seal and disappeared in a flicker of movement.<p>

A few minutes later, Naruto appeared in the Hokage's Tower. He had sealed away his casual clothes, and he wore his flak vest over a black shirt and a pair of pants. The blond adjusted his headband so that it sat straight on his forehead, and then continued walking down the hallway. Members of the Jonin Guard nodded at him as he passed them, and Naruto waved back in a friendly greeting.

It was only when he had passed the last of the checkpoints to the Hokage's Office that he stopped, his eyes widening.

A black-cloaked figure wearing a patterned white mask stood before him. Red stripes curled down the side of the man's mask to form an intimidating snarl. The ANBU operative was walking towards the Hokage's Office, but he noticed Naruto's approach and paused.

"Good afternoon, Ferret," the man greeted coolly. Like the ANBU Commander, his voice was partially synthesised, deep and unemotional. "I have heard of Team Sigma's successes in the field. You are to be commended."

"Hello, Kitsune," Naruto greeted back just as coolly. "I didn't know you were back."

Kitsune gave a tiny shrug. "Our mission in the Land of Hot Springs is complete. As such, Alpha Platoon is reporting back to Konoha for reassignment."

The two ANBU operatives fell into line with each other and began to walk towards the Hokage's Office. Kitsune was taller than Naruto by a fair margin, and Naruto worked hard to keep his stride in line with the senior operative.

"Good mission?" Naruto asked after a few awkward moments.

"We reached our objectives in a satisfactory manner," Kitsune replied.

"Oh," Naruto uttered. He scratched the back of his head. "Awesome."

The two ANBU operatives reached the doors and entered the Hokage's Office. The Third Hokage sat behind his desk, carefully studying one of the many documents that littered his table. Kitsune paused at the head of the Hokage's table and knelt, while Naruto moved past him to stand behind the Hokage's left shoulder.

"Rise, Kitsune," the Hokage said, his voice a rumble.

Kitsune did so, and he stood there, tall, proud and unmoving- the perfect shinobi. Behind the Hokage, Naruto rolled his eyes. Damn it, Kitsune was such a suck-up! The other operative probably saw his eye roll, but nonetheless he stood there unflinchingly as the Hokage finished reading the document and placed it down on the table.

"Report," the Hokage commanded.

"As per your orders, Alpha Platoon entered the Land of the Hot Springs and immediately began searching for any remnants of the Cult of Jashin," Kitsune said. "The Fire Lord was able to negotiate official clearance with the local Feudal Lord, and we began looking at their records."

He paused.

"Despite severe losses sustained during the Crusade against the Land of Lightning, the Cult had managed to build up their numbers to dangerous levels. There were approximately seven monasteries hidden away in remote regions, with approximately three thousand members in total. We followed reports of disappearances and abductions and located five of the monasteries. As per your orders, we implemented the _scorched earth _doctrine."

Kitsune cocked his head.

"There was some collateral damage. Several of the cultists had integrated themselves into local villages. Many members of the minor nobility had been turned, some forcefully, using a brainwashing method still unknown to us. Their overall goals seemed to be once again the complete control of the Feudal Court. We tracked down every agent and member of the Cult and neutralised them. Our last count indicated that six-thousand, four-hundred and twenty-seven men, women and children were put to the torch. Fifteen villages were burned. All seven monasteries were destroyed. All associated books and artefacts were gathered and destroyed."

Naruto's eyes widened and it took all of his control not to gape at the other ANBU Captain in the room. Alpha Platoon had killed over _6000 people_ in a matter of months? What he was hearing made him feel uneasy, but he ruthlessly squashed down those feelings and reminded himself just exactly why Alpha Platoon had been deployed.

After all, the Cult of Jashin had invaded the Land of Fire, butchered hundreds of citizens and attempted an assassination of the daughter of the Fire Lord.

Naruto clenched his fists. The Cult, and anybody who had associated with them, had gotten exactly what they deserved- or, at least, that's what the blond boy told himself.

The Hokage nodded, looking unmoved by the statistics that he had just heard. "And the status of your squad?" he continued.

"Out of twenty-five ANBU operatives, eight were killed in action," Kitsune reported in a monotone. "The Cult possessed some fearsome techniques involving the use of blood. Their largest monastery was protected by a barrier technique that liquefied the flesh of any individual within the radius of it. We lost a squad in our initial scouting attempts."

"I see," the Hokage murmured. "I trust that you have documented this technique?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama." Kitsune bowed.

"Very well," the Hokage said. He waved Kitsune away. "Dismissed, Captain. You and your men have two weeks of leave. You have earned it."

"Thank you, Hokage-sama," Kitsune said. He bowed once more, and then disappeared.

Naruto was left alone in the office with the Hokage, but the old man didn't seem like he was in the mood to talk. For the next couple of hours, the young blond silently worked at Sarutobi's side, filing paperwork and sending of messengers. There were times when Sarutobi would just stare out the window with his pipe, letting Naruto handle much of the logistics by himself.

It occurred to Naruto as he was stamping approval on a budget request that he had just approved the movement of more money than he would ever earn in a lifetime. It also occurred to him that he was technically committing treason at the moment as he used the Hokage's stamp to authorise yet another document. He finished it off by signing Sarutobi's name, his use of the signature practically identical to the old man's own.

Towards the end of the day, when the sun was beginning to dip over the Hokage's Monument, there was a knock on the door. Sarutobi stirred in his chair and looked up from his cup of tea. Naruto stood up from his seat and strode across the room to open the door.

An old man stood there, heavily bandaged. His arm was close to his chest, held up by a sling, and one of his eyes was covered by his bandages. He held a cane in his hand, and he wore a faint and unassuming smile.

"Good evening, Uzumaki Naruto," Danzo greeted quietly. "I have an appointment with the Hokage. Is he available?"

Naruto turned his head and saw Sarutobi give him a slight nod. He pulled on the door and held it open as the injured elder walked into the office, heavily favouring his left leg. The cane tapped rhythmically along the wooden floorboards as the old man limped to the desk and sank into one of the seats.

"You're dismissed, Naruto," the Hokage said quietly. He waved the young blond away, despite the ANBU operative's half-formed protests. "I can handle of the rest of this myself. Thank you for your assistance today."

Naruto nodded, and with one last, curious look at Danzo, left the office.

* * *

><p>The door closed with a quiet thud behind Naruto's departure, and it left Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzo alone in the office. The God of Shinobi and the Darkness of Shinobi sat on opposite ends of the table, the former puffing on his pipe. Danzo slowly reached into his robes and pulled out his own pipe. The Hokage raised an eyebrow as the other elder shinobi lit the end of the pipe with an expert flare of fire-natured chakra and puffed on it.<p>

"Alpha Platoon is back," Danzo commented. "Their presence will be well-needed in the coming days."

"Indeed," Sarutobi responded. He took a sip from his cup of tea. "It appears that conflict is inevitable, my old friend. One way or another, war is coming to the Land of Fire."

Danzo made a noise in the back of his throat. "How vexing," he murmured. "To think that there's a squad of foreign operatives conducting missions on our own soil…" His fist clenched against his pipe, and his nostrils flared.

Sarutobi smiled ruefully. "I am torn between anger and admiration," he admitted. "Whoever is responsible is doing such a superb job. I am loathe to admit, but they might even be better than your vaunted ROOT."

"If it still existed," Danzo added a moment later.

Sarutobi smiled. "Of course," he agreed graciously. He rubbed at his chin with his thumb. "On a more serious note, it's becoming quite apparent that we might need to start considering the worst case scenario."

Danzo paused.

"Should the Village lose the support of the Fire Court, it might become necessary to appoint a Hokage who will be able to regain favour of the nobility," Sarutobi continued grimly. "It cannot be I. The rumours of my 'involvement' with the last Fire Lord's demise are poison to my position."

"Who will take the spot then?" Danzo asked. "Is your newest apprentice the one who will rise to the position?"

Sarutobi smiled bitterly. "No," he rejected. "Naruto is 'The Right Hand of God'. His prestige is tied to his relationship to me. While he is beginning to make a name for himself, he is still perceived as being 'under my thumb'." Sarutobi shook his head. "No. Naruto becoming the Fifth Hokage will not help fix this crisis."

"Besides," Danzo said, "Uzumaki Naruto is still too inexperienced for the position. There are better shinobi for the job."

"Like yourself," Sarutobi noted with wry amusement.

Danzo smiled thinly. "I would be a possible candidate," he admitted. "Nonetheless, I would not want the position in such circumstances. The kowtowing and bowing that would be required in such a state of affairs would force me to use drastic measures. I might just have to overthrow the Fire Court should such a thing happen."

Sarutobi froze and pinned his rival with a terrible glare. "That's not funny."

Danzo was unaffected by the Hokage's displeasure. He seemed to be mulling something over. "While it is commendable that you are considering all outcomes to our situation, I believe that you're focussing too much on our defeat and not enough on our victory."

Sarutobi looked amused. "Am I now?" he asked. "Do tell, Danzo. What are you thinking?"

"Uzumaki is in your shadow," Danzo responded. He puffed on his pipe for a few moments. "Like you said, his status is tied to your own. Use that then. Don't lose the battle. Use your _jinchuriki_ to your advantage. Force him to the front. Make him the public face of your campaign. Your victory will not only protect the status of the Village, but it will allow Uzumaki to become acquainted with the Fire Lord and the nobility. They will know his worth, and they will remember it when the time comes."

Sarutobi sighed. "When the time comes…" he mused to himself.

"How long?" Danzo questioned. He seemed genuinely curious.

"I want to say tomorrow," Sarutobi murmured. He chuckled. "Perhaps, though, if all goes well, then in five years I will be able to take off the hat. Naruto can pick it up when he is 18- and then the Village will be his responsibility."

"Should it survive that long," Danzo murmured quietly.

Sarutobi chuckled wearily. "Should it survive that long," he agreed.


	37. Bloody Monday

**A/N: I'm going to get this arc done in the next week and a half. I'm already up to Chapter 40, and hopefully it'll finish at Chapter 42. This was kind of dragging on, so I'm glad to get it done. Hope you enjoy.**

* * *

><p>"<strong>Bloody Monday"<strong>

It was the dawn of a new day, and the sun rose up into the sky, casting a soft, golden light upon the sleepy village of Konoha. Most of the businesses had shut for the night, and while there was always an active shinobi presence, the Village seemed to be dead still, and there was very little movement. Slowly, people began to stir. The wafting scent of baking bread began to fill the streets, and genin darted around the Village carrying bottles of milk, newspapers and other assorted goods, ready for an early morning delivery.

Within the tallest building in the village, a young, thirteen year old boy's eyes snapped open at exactly 6:59:58. His hand flew out and he slapped the alarm clock on his bedside table a mere two seconds before it would have went off. Naruto blinked away the sleep from his eyes and took a deep breath, his froggy sleeping hat bobbing up and down with every breath. He got out of bed, flannel pyjamas wrinkled, and absently pressed a thumb on the spiralling red tattoo on his upper arm. A miniscule surge of chakra spread through the seal and Naruto was enveloped in a puff of smoke.

When it disappeared, Naruto's pyjamas were gone. He wore a light-grey armoured vest and long, dark pants. A pair of dull-metal armguards covered his forearm, and fingerless gloves protected his hands. His right upper arm was bare, his ANBU tattoo visible for the world to see, but he had wrapped a series of bandages around his upper left arm. Naruto rubbed his eyes and quickly made his bed, his movements automatic and well-rehearsed. Then, making sure his mask was clipped onto his utility belt, he left his small bedroom with the door closing quietly behind him.

It was usually Naruto's job to rouse the Third Hokage, but today, like many mornings, the old man was already up. Naruto shook his head wryly as he closed the door to the Hokage's bedroom. Ever since Naruto had been promoted to Jonin, Sarutobi had been giving him less and less of a hard time. That's not to say that the young ANBU could drop his guard, for that would just ensure that the cranky old man would hurl something heavy at his face, but it had made the mornings much easier. Naruto grimaced, however, as he made his way to his next destination.

If Sarutobi had lightened up, then Konohamaru had more than made up for it with _his_ antics.

Naruto didn't know if the young Sarutobi was secretly bitter about his promotion, or that he was still recovering from his loss at the Chunin Exams. Maybe he was just trying- and succeeding- at being a pain the arse. Whatever the reason, every morning was quickly becoming less of a wake-up call and more of a re-enactment of the Third Great War. As such, when Naruto ascended the next floor to where Konohamaru's bedroom was, he was immediately wary and alert.

Konohamaru was becoming a sneakly little bastard, and it would be a massive dent in his pride as a Jonin if a Genin got the upperhand on him in an ambush. Naruto clenched his fists. That bastard Kakashi would never let him live it down!

The first trap was obvious. Ninja wire glinted across the hallway, leading up into the darkened corners of the hallway to bundles of packaged items. There could have been anything in there, from kunai or shuriken to poisons and gas. Knowing Konohamaru, it was probably something embarrassing and completely inappropriate for use in a real battle. It was simple and effective, yet not impossible to bypass without setting any of them off. Actually, there were several blind spots where an agile shinobi could dart through to reach the end of the corridor- and Naruto frowned at that.

Konohamaru was smarter than that.

Yet there was nothing obvious from where he was standing that could indicate danger. Naruto palmed his forehead, already thinking of the headache that was coming along. It was too early to be dealing with his kind of nonsense. Usually, the blond ANBU would play along with Konohamaru, secretly pleased at how the young Sarutobi was progressing with his trap-making. There were some days, however, when he just could be bothered.

This was one of these days.

He flipped through a series of hand-seals and gathered the chakra. It pulsed in his veins, and the _tenketsu_ in his mouth burned with a sudden warmth.

_Water Release: Waterfall Technique!_

He reared his head back and spat out a goblet of water. Chakra surged through it and even as it began to leave his mouth it began to expand, more and more chakra-induced water coming forward until it had become a wild river. It swept across the hallway, tearing through the wires and traps and setting them all off. Puffs of white powder and a few pops of firecrackers going off were swept through by the tide, which slammed into the door at the end of the room with a thud. There was a sudden yelp and Naruto lowered his hands, even as the water began to recede and evaporate at an alarming rate. Chakra-induced water rarely lasted more than a few moments before the power that held the oxygen and hydrogen atoms together would dissipate

"I know you can hear me!" Naruto called across the suddenly wet hallway, wisps of water rising up into mist around him. "You've got five minutes, or else I'm coming in there, tying you up in your underwear and dropping you off in Sakura's bedroom!"

Naruto could practically hear Konohamaru gulp as he turned away, a slight smirk on his face.

* * *

><p>An hour later, Naruto and the rest of Team Sigma accompanied the Hokage to the Mission Assignment Office. This was where the majority of missions were handed out to shinobi teams, and where clients would come to request the services of Konoha. Usually manned by Chunin, the Third Hokage liked to attend every now and then to give out missions, interact with his shinobi and make a grand impression on the clientele. Business had picked up after the Chunin Exams, and Naruto would often restrain the urge to squirm as the clients, most often the Lords and Ladies of the Fire Court, would eye him with intrigue as he stood by the Hokage's side.<p>

As Team Sigma was officially responsible for the protection of the Hokage, they too had to accompany him. Unlike Naruto, however, they were merely allowed to stand around looking impressive- and impressive they must have looked, because the blatant appearance of so many ANBU had quite a few of the clients impressed. Two children accompanying a hardened, leather-skinned man wearing a blacksmith's apron even ran up to Yuuka, giggling as they circled her, waving and trying to get her attention. To her credit, the Yamanaka stood there stoically, although Naruto would bet that she was smiling behind her mask.

Naruto, on the other hand, was running around almost constantly as he shuffled piles of paperwork from one corner of the room to the other, organised messengers to reach various departments and shinobi, collected payment and signed off on Treasury deposits, fetched tea for the clients and the Hokage, and a thousand other miscellaneous jobs. The Mission Assignment Office seemed to be understaffed for the day, with two Chunin calling in sick, and ironically the Missions Assignment Office hadn't made adjustments for the Mission Assignment Office roster, probably because the one who organised the shift-work was one of the Chunin who was off sick.

It hurt Naruto's head to even think about it, but he never really got enough time to think too deeply as one job led to another led to another. At one point, he tried to call up some Shadow Clones- but Sarutobi dispelled them with a single hand-seal and whacked Naruto over the head, looking cross.

"No clones," he barked grumpily. "Some of that paperwork has to have an authentic signature, and the Fire Courts say that the signatures of clones don't count."

"What about all of the other jobs?" Naruto had protested desperately.

"Shut up and get to work!"

Naruto grumbled but got to work, and the shinobi and clients in the Mission Assignment Office that morning got to witness the Right Hand of God himself sign forms in triplicate, bring tea to the Hokage and generally run around looking flustered and annoyed. Team Sigma seemed to regard it as highly amusing, and at one point Naruto was sure that he heard Sasuke snort with laughter as he was forced to pick up a bundle of paperwork that the Hokage had 'dropped'.

"Traitor," Naruto muttered sourly.

It looked like it was going to be one of _those_ days, but at around noon a messenger arrived bearing a scroll with a red string. The Hokage immediately took it, opened it up and began reading, even as Naruto directed newly-arriving clients to the Chunin manning the desks. There was a slight murmur of business in the air, but it faded away as the Hokage abruptly stood up, still reading the scroll. Team Sigma straightened, Towa and Komachi revealing themselves in the dark corners of the roof, as the Third Hokage rolled the scroll back up and began to stride away.

_: Team, escort Mission Priority :_ Naruto signed, and then waved off the last few clients so he could hurry on after his leader.

* * *

><p>Five minutes later, Team Sigma and the Third Hokage stood in the darkened depths of Konoha. Located underneath the great, prosperous village was her Department of Intelligence. It was essentially a giant dome criss-crossing with metal railing, wire and cables. At the very centre of the dome was a large, rectangular table where an enormous map of the Elemental Countries had been laid. Small figurines, numbering in the dozens, had been put onto the map, each representing armies of the Great Village's respective armies. Most pieces were made of iron, but a few stood out with gleaming gold. Each of those pieces represented a single person, an S-rank shinobi, and there were no more than ten of them on the map. The only other colour visibly apparent was red- and each of those nine markers represented a Jinchuuriki.<p>

Above the map, with walls and floors made of transparent glass, was the office of the Jonin Commander and Head of the Department of Intelligence. Sarutobi was striding towards there now, flanked by Team Sigma, and shinobi, clerks and analysts practically jumped out of his way, looking up from benches of scrolls and reports to watch their leader walk past. Naruto walked behind Sarutobi at his right, mask on and black cloak flaring around him, and kept up with the old man as he ascended the staircase and paused before Nara Shikaku's office.

"Naruto, come," Sarutobi commanded.

Naruto nodded. "Yes, Hokage-sama."

They entered the room, and the scarred man was obviously waiting for them, his eyes on them in a second. He sat behind a desk, his chin resting upon his clasped hands and a spread of opened scrolls and loose paper scattered around him. The Jonin Commander nodded respectfully at the Third Hokage and rose. The Hokage sat down and Naruto stood behind him, while Shikaku made a single hand-seal. The shadows from the room seemed to elongate and pulse, and they oozed over the glass floor and walls, covering them with a film of darkness that allowed the two senior-ranking members of the Village their privacy.

"Are you certain?" Sarutobi asked firmly, looking carefully at his Jonin Commander. "Are you absolutely certain?"

Shikaku gave a lazy shrug. "As certain as I can be," he responded. He yawned as he passed over several loose pieces of paper. The Hokage read them carefully as the spiky-haired man continued. "Our informants have revealed _that_. We have evidence of financial transaction, travelling logs that match with assumed enemy movements and, most recently, that picture."

Naruto wasn't able to look past the Hokage's shoulder at the photo, but the old man's shoulders tensed and he let out a weary groan that revealed more of his age then it probably should have.

"I see," Sarutobi murmured. He passed the documents back to Shikaku, who took them and placed them in a file. "What have you received from the Fire Court?"

"The Fire Lord has given you broad discretionary powers in this matter," Shikaku answered. A twitch of a wry smile crossed his face. "In fact, you are to handle things as you see fit. However, should something occur, he will of course have full plausible deniability."

"Naturally," Sarutobi responded. "Very well. I shall see to it immediately."

He turned and clicked his fingers. Naruto felt his tattoo burn and in a flicker of movement, the door opened and the remainder of Team Sigma knelt before the Hokage. Naruto moved past them, closing the door, and turned to face his leader. The black shadows continued to shield the room from view, and the only light came from the bright fluorescents above them.

"Rise," the Hokage said.

Team Sigma stood at attention as the Hokage began to brief them.

"I have a sensitive matter that I need you to attend to," the Hokage said. He clasped his hands together as Nara Shikaku continued to shuffle papers in the background. "There is a nobleman fairly high-placed within the Fire Court who we suspect may be meeting or colluding with foreign agents. We would like to _talk_ to him."

"However, this man is not one you can simply snatch from his home," Shikaku added warningly. "Were he to mysteriously disappear, it would cause problems, especially since our suspicions are just that." He handed Naruto a scroll with a golden ribbon and the personal chakra-embedded seal of the Fire Lord. "On behalf of the Fire Lord and the Third Hokage, you are to find this man in a public venue and, in full view of witnesses, you are to ask him to accompany you to Konoha."

"What if he refuses?" Naruto asked quietly.

Sarutobi and Shikaku exchanged glances.

"Make it clear to him that this is a direct command from the Fire Lord himself," Sarutobi said. "The scroll shall provide your proof. If he continues to refuse, you may arrest him- but make sure that you do it publically. This is not a matter that we can sweep under the rug. Our target is a senior member of the Twenty-Four Torches, and he wields some serious political clout. The Village cannot appear to be in the wrong. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama," Naruto bowed his head.

"Dismissed, Team Sigma," the Hokage commanded, "And go and retrieve our traitor."

* * *

><p>It was one o'clock in the afternoon when Team Sigma left Konoha on their priority mission. They had all stocked up on their equipment and had been given full access to the ANBU armoury to take whatever it was that they needed. Team Sigma had only encountered the enemy black-ops agents once, but they had left a very nasty impression on them. Naruto knew that, overall, the other ANBU team was more skilled than his own. Although lesser in number, they were probably all A-rank Jonin, heavily specialised and skilled in their fields and having more than a little power behind them.<p>

Team Sigma had managed to escape from them, but the other team hadn't bothered to pursue them for very long and they hadn't been bogged down with a possibly reluctant or hostile 'client'. If the allegations were true, it wasn't unlikely that the black-ops team might decide to remove a loose end and take out the package before he had a chance to supply Konoha with information.

Kage, Daichi, Sasuke were at the front of their formation, their abilities and bloodlines enabling them to spot and fend off any initial ambush of attack. Komachi and Towa held the middle, their skills lying primarily with mid-range combat, while Yuuka and Naruto held the back, the two more suited for long-range combat with genjutsu and ninjutsu respectively.

Luckily, they encountered no resistance as they bounded across the tree line towards the Fire Capital. Their goal was the family estate of Kinjo Takahiro, one of the Fire Lord's senior advisors, a member of the Twenty-Four Torches, a celebrated judge of the Tribunal, and Head of the Kinjo Banking Establishment the largest banking guild within the Land of Fire. At fifty-years of age, the man managed to juggle his multiple roles well, and he was an influential and well-respected member of the Fire Court- as well as a suspected traitor.

One of the most respected men in the Land of Fire might be a traitor.

It boggled the mind.

It only took a couple of hours to arrive as the Kinjo Family Estate, although it soon became apparent that 'estate' wasn't necessarily accurate. Instead, it was more like a moderately sized town. The presence of the headquarters of the Kinjo Banking Establishment had caused a small village to spring around it, and Naruto could see newly-built roads stretching out from all directions, bringing with it the merchants, the traders and the money. The building itself was made of glass and iron, a modern design that stretched up higher than any other building around it. It was almost as large as the Hokage's Tower back in Konoha, and it gleamed underneath the light of the sun.

It was unlike any design that Naruto had seen before. Why waste good metal on a _building_ when there was enough wood in the Land of Fire to build a thousand buildings of that size and not even put a dent in lumber supplies? And all that glass- how could anybody expect any level of privacy?

Team Sigma paused at the crest of the hill, staring down at the town beneath them. It was busy, and the faint sounds and aromas of a town drifted up towards them, of a thousand different people speaking all at the same time, of the hollers and shouts of the merchants who had come to peddle their wares, of the smell of produce and smoke and livestock.

"What an interesting town," Towa whistled, rubbing the back of his head and sounding impressed.

"A Land of Rain design," Kage informed them quietly. He nodded at the bank. "In the Village Hidden in Rain, these are meant to rise as high as the clouds, great buildings of steel and glass."

"We can ask him about his architectural designs later," Naruto intruded firmly. He gestured at the town. "We have our mission. We need to locate and apprehend Kinjo Takahiro."

The ANBU around him nodded.

They approached the town rather obviously, and they had no intention to sneak their way in. The Hokage had been quite specific and had stressed the importance of this not looking like a kidnapping if they could possibly help it. So when entering the town, Team Sigma simply walked in. There were no walls, there very rarely were in towns like these. Walls would do nothing to stop an attack by shinobi, who could simply walk over them at their leisure, and the assigned shinobi to this town would be able to keep any overt criminal activity at bay. All walls would do would create congestion and impede the flow of merchants, traders and clients coming to and from the town.

Naturally, the presence of an ANBU Squad entering the town caused a stir. The locals crossed the street, gazing at them warily. Men became stony-faced and women ushered away small children. The traders and merchants gave them a wide berth, and the many of them who had hired a shinobi escort spoke quietly to them. Naruto caught glimpse of no less than twenty foreign shinobi in the town, and the headbands of all of the other major villages except Kiri were represented.

_: Eight shinobi from Iwa – Five shinobi from Kumo – 12 shinobi from Suna – 14 shinobi from assorted minor villages – 500 metre radius :_ Daichi signed.

Naruto didn't give any indication that he had received the information, but he kept his eyes about. Unlike the rest of his squad, he wore his face unmasked, his whiskered-cheeks, blue eyes and blond, spiky hair bear for the world to see. Part of the mission documents had specified that Naruto was to make a public appearance, perhaps to play on his increasingly popular reputation with the civilian populace. He had, after all, led the team that had destroyed the Sky Country Invasion force, and he had rescued the daughter of the Fire Lord. Such acts tended to get around, and even as many of his squad received wary and even hostile glances as they entered the town, many looked at Naruto with looks of dawning comprehension and a somewhat measure of respect.

It made Naruto uncomfortable, to be honest. Long ago, before he had graduated from the Academy, Naruto had longed for recognition. Now, after seven years of service in ANBU, it was all rather uncomfortable. He had received his validation from the Third Hokage, and what the rest of the population on the planet thought of him didn't matter to him at all.

Nonetheless, he would play on it. He reached into his cloak and pulled out a sheet of paper, a timetable of events that Kinjo Takahiro should be attending courtesy of their local informants. It was almost half-past four, so the noble should be in the Auction Hall, along with many other members of the nobility and their guards. Public enough for what they need to do.

The young blond clicked his fingers and, using the map provided, strode towards the small building where the auction was being held. This building again was rather different from traditional Fire Country architecture. Instead of wood and planks, this building was made entirely out of polished stone. Dark black marble gleamed in the sun as the temple-like building appeared in view. It was contrasted rather nicely by a series of giant white-marble pillars that held up the awnings. Carriages, servants and messengers mingled at the entrance of the hall, and they parted as Naruto led his squad through. Team Sigma moved behind him, flanking him, as Naruto entered the building, pausing only to show his headband to the local security.

Inside, the polished white floors stretched onward throughout the cavernous entrance hall. In front of them was a set of doors, polished wood and stained glass hiding what was behind them. Naruto walked forward, his footsteps echoing loudly in the deserted hall, opened the doors and slipped into the next room. The building opened up into a rather large room with rows of chairs lining both sides of a centre aisle. The rows were packed with men and women dressed in the fine clothes of the nobility from their respective nations. Loose, silky robes adorned those from the Land of Wind, large, fur-covered coats draped over the lords from the Land of Earth, while those from the Land of Lightning wore fine-woven robes with elaborate scenes of battle and victory sewn into them. Behind and around these lords stood their personal attendants and guards, and many of them were shinobi.

Naruto saw more than one shinobi glance at them warily, their foreign headbands glinting underneath the lights of the room, but he ignored them. At the very front of the room was his target, Kinjo Takahiro. He strode forward, past the Lords and Ladies, the guards and servants, and moving past the faltering and astonished auctioneer, to where Lord Kinjo sat at the table to the side. He watched them come with calm eyes, flanked by a pair of Iwa-Nin. The fact that such an important and revered member of the Fire Court had chosen to hire shinobi from a village other Konoha was significant.

"Kinjo Takahiro?" Naruto asked the man as he stopped at the front of his table.

The man behind the table angled his head in confirmation. He wore thin-rimmed glasses over a pair of sharp, calculating eyes, and his dark hair was streaked with grey. His girth was larger than average, and he wore the fine yellow and red robes of the Fire Court. His hands were adorned with rings, brilliant jewels flashing, and traditional cane rested upon the edge of the table.

"You're Konoha's ANBU," Takahiro said, sounding completely unsurprised. Indeed, he even sounded a tad derisive, a brave position to be when confronted by the Hokage's personal guard. "Are you here to whisk me away?" He smiled faintly. "Am I about to disappear, never to be seen again, just like all of Sarutobi's enemies are?"

"No, sir," Naruto answered quietly. He reached into his robes and pulled out the scroll with the golden ribbon. "I believe that this will explain everything."

Takahiro took the scroll and looked at the emblem of the Fire Lord with a faint grimace. He carefully untied it and broke the seal with a loud crack that echoed in the suddenly silent room. The two Iwa-Nin behind him were shot furtive glances at each other and carefully adjusted their stance. Behind him, Naruto could feel his team do the same thing. It was a bad match up for the Iwa-Nin. Both were Jonin, as indicated by their vests, and Naruto was pretty sure that the woman on the right with the blonde bangs was listed in the Bingo Book as an A-rank shinobi. Nonetheless, it didn't change the fact that it was two on seven.

"I see," Takahiro said quietly as he finished reading the scroll. His fingers clenched. "So the Fire Lord has seen fit to throw me away, after everything I have done to secure his empire. He and Sarutobi are truly magnificent together."

"As far as I'm aware, sir, we need you to come and answer some questions on a matter that you might be able to help with," Naruto responded crisply. "Due to the delicacy of the matter, we need to do this in Konoha, where it's safe and secure. We're here to make sure that you reach Konoha without incident. Every courtesy is to be afforded to you where possible."

Takahrio smiled faintly and regarded Naruto carefully. "You're Uzumaki Naruto," he said. He shook his head. "Such a powerful shinobi, on such a trivial mission-"

"If it was trivial, I wouldn't be here," Naruto interjected firmly. "Now, sir, you're allowed to pack a bag or two, but we need to leave shortly. For your own protection, my team will escort you from here on." He eyed the Iwa-Nin. "Unfortunately, your mission has been cancelled early."

"That's not part of our contract," the large man rumbled. He was big, rivalling the size of an Akamichi, but with hard, bulky muscle instead of fat. He had a strange look on his face, as if he was still trying to process what he had just heard, but Naruto didn't miss the flash of intelligence in his eyes. "What do you say, Suki?"

The woman beside him said nothing, but she brushed the blonde bangs out of her eyes, regarding the ANBU team carefully. She wore a vest that left her arms completely bare, save for the bandage wrapped around her right forearm. Now that Naruto had a name for the woman, the rest of the Bingo Book entry came to him easily.

_Nanashi Suki, A-ranked Jonin from Iwagakure. Strong areas include taijutsu and explosives. Affinity to wind techniques, and when combined with her explosives, become quite dangerous. Recommended strategy- Kage take point and keep her occupied, Daichi and Sasuke back Kage up to supply intel on hidden explosives- partner dangerous in close combat, Towa engage as Yuuka and Komachi move in for lethal blows- dispatch guards, detain mission priority and retrieve any significant-_

The woman's voice broke Naruto out of his quick thoughts. "Nah, we're done here," she drawled. She shrugged at Takahrio. "The contract would have specified that we're not allowed to engage any of the local authorities in the course of their duties. Standard legal crap. If these ANBU are here on the orders of the Fire Lord, we can't stop them."

She eyed them, then snorted, shrugged and began to walk away.

"~See ya later, spooks!~" She waved them off, her voice a sing-song.

The huge shinobi lumbered obediently behind her as the two Iwa-Nin left the auction house.

Takahrio was now alone, and he appeared resigned to his situation.

"Very well," he said primly and stood. "I shall gather some belongings and we will depart to Konoha. Lord Nakeshi, if you would attend to matters here then I would be most appreciative."

The auctioneer nodded, his eyes still wide, as Lord Kinjo stood up with the poise and dignity of a man of the noble class. Then, as if he wasn't surrounded by battle-hardened ANBU, he strode from the room with his head held high, flanked by the rest of Team Sigma. Naruto remained where he was as the man left the room, bending down to pick up the discarded mission orders from the Fire Lord. Then, he too left the room, and only then did the buzz and murmur of conversation begin once more.

* * *

><p>For a man that only had to pack a bag, Kinjo Takahrio certainly took his time. Then again, Naruto was unused to the clothing habits of the nobility, and after seeing how the Lord had filled an entire suitcase with only two nights clothing, he wasn't quite sure if Takahrio was trying to delay them or was trying to bide time for a rescue. Nonetheless, the letter from the Fire Lord has specifically said 'with all available courtesy' and Naruto wasn't quite sure if hurrying the man to finish packing up would be discourteous.<p>

After all, some nobles still fought each other on the duelling court over perceived slights, real or not. Was Takahrio one of those types?

Still, after ten minutes had gone by, enough was enough. Naruto cleared his throat quite abruptly and Takahrio looked up from his third suitcase, a faint look of annoyance.

"Sir, I'm sure you won't be needed in Konoha for very long," Naruto said delicately. "And if you are, I'm sure some suitable clothing can be provided for you. I think, though, that it's time to leave."

"Very well," Takahrio huffed.

Next to him, his wife, twenty-years younger than he and wearing heavy make-up, made crooning noises of distress as Takahrio shut the suitcase. Sasuke moved forward and carefully sealed the belongings away in a scroll, tucking it back into his cloak. Takahrio's face softened as he turned to regard his wife, and he took her by the hands.

"I'll be back soon," he murmured, seemingly not caring that the ANBU agents were watching. "Give the children my love, and don't forget to water the bonsai."

The wife made incomprehensible babbling noises and collapsed to the ground in a teary heap. Takahrio adjusted his robes and turned back to Naruto, giving him a curt nod. Naruto bowed his head and gestured for Takahrio to leave. Together, Takahrio and Team Sigma walked out of the bedroom and down the stairs. Behind them came the over-exaggerated wails of his wife, her crooning pitch rising and falling, as if her husband had just passed away.

It was quite an uncomfortable noise to listen to, but it was much better than what awaited them outside.

They stepped out of the large home and into the large gardens to meet a crowd of angry men and women waiting for them. They shouted things at them, hollering incoherently, even as the Military Police held them back. Naruto was taken aback, and glanced at Takahrio only to see that the noble was not surprised at all. Either the noble was very well loved, or the rot of treason had spread throughout this village, because the crowd before them had no love for Konoha. He saw several signs, many of them large posters of a demonically-drawn Sarutobi, and had to clench his fists to keep his face stony-still.

Nonetheless, the protestors parted before them. It was only a small group, perhaps twenty or thirty of them, but as they walked through the centre of town it became apparent that things were getting worse. Shouts and hollers were filling the air, far different from the merchants and traders, coming from several streets over. Around them, several shops were closing their doors and windows and locking up. A merchant hurriedly covered his goods, gathered his earnings for the day and made for the nearest shelter. Naruto could feel the unease in the pit of his stomach, and he eyed the rooftops speculatively.

He was supposed to leave the Kinjo Family Holding as he had come in, showing to the world that the ANBU had nothing to hide, but the worsening situation was making him seriously consider breaking the mission protocol.

The decision was ultimately taken out of his hands. Team Sigma, Takahrio walking in the middle of them, turned the corner which away from Takahrio's estate and onto the main road, they could see a sizable crowd up ahead. This time, however, they were being held back by four black-cloaked and masked ANBU, each wearing a headband with a leaf insignia inscribed upon it. Daichi stopped short at the sight of them, fingers moving rapidly.

_: Approaching shinobi undetected on Byakugan – suspect genjutsu interference! :_

Naruto stopped short and held up his hand, his heart racing. Team Sigma followed suit as Naruto sent a careful pulse of chakra through his ANBU tattoo and set resulting chakra pulse down upon the other ANBU.

There was no response.

Then, before Naruto could do a single thing, the lead ANBU turned back to the crowd, casually reached into their cloak and thrust a glinting steel blade deep in the stomach of the nearest civilian. There was a stunned silence from the crowd as the man collapsed. Naruto's eyes were wide and his fingers darted, giving out orders to his squad as the fake-ANBU agent turned around, flanked by three of his colleagues. An instant later, there was a deafening clap of thunder and a flash of searing heat enveloped the street. Men and women screamed as the technique tore through them rather messily, arcs of lighting shredding clothing, scorching skin and boiling blood. Even as the protestors fell screaming, Naruto absently noted that most of the injuries were far more dramatic than they appeared- which he supposed was the point.

_: Daichi, Komachi, Sasuke, secure package, meet at rendezvous alpha-three : Kage, Towa, Yuuka and I will intercept enemy :_

The orders were received in a flash and Komachi grabbed Takahrio's arm. She instantly disappeared with a flicker of movement, Daichi and Sasuke following her. Komachi was a Jonin with command experience and would see the mission through regardless of what happened to the rest of them. Daichi had his _Byakugan_, which could hopefully allow them to avoid enemy ambushes, and Sasuke-well, Sasuke was not at the level where he could be fighting opponents at a calibre such as these.

There was no doubt in Naruto's mind. These were members from the same black-ops team that they had encountered at Minoru's home, the same team that had ambushed and almost defeated them. It was not going to happen again!

As civilians and protestors scrambled back and began to run away, Naruto darted ahead with incredible speed, only outdone by Kage who was a step ahead of him, black blade blurring in the air. It clashes against the bloodied steel sword of the lead operative, sparks flickering through the air, but then Naruto lost vision as he approached his own target. It was a slender operative, definitely a woman behind those robes, and she turned to meet his charge with a ferocity that almost overwhelmed him.

Her hand-to-hand strikes were vicious and unrelenting, and drove him back the way he had come in the first few seconds. She was a never-ending whirlwind of movement, hands, feet, elbows and legs swinging at him from all angles as she twirled on her feet, one large-swinging movement leading into another until it became a momentum that Naruto weathered with a grimace. He blocked a kick, and her leather-soled boot slammed down on his forearms with a loud crack as the steel-cap hidden in the heel slammed against the metal plate of his armguard. This led to an elbow jab that Naruto hastily parried, but it left him open to a quick jab and he only managed to stop his nose from breaking by rolling with the blow.

Nonetheless, he had drawn the operative away from the crowds, who were running the other way, and jumped back to avoid a whirlind-roundhouse kick, he flipped through three hand-seals, heart beating madly in his chest.

_Earth Release: Rising Stone Spears!_

The woman threw herself to the side in a neat roll as the cobbled stones beneath her shifted and cracked, and a series of large, rocky spikes burst out from the ground in an attempt to skewer them. As she came out of the roll, Naruto made two more hand-seals and gestured at her, and the rocky spears shot broke from the ground and shot towards her at great speed.

Her own hands flashed and her cheeks bulged. A thin stream of high-pressurised water spat from her mouth, zipping through the air and destroying many of the flying spears in an instant. What she didn't destroy, she dodged, and then reared her head back and spat her water technique out at him. Naruto's eyes widened and he let out a strangled gasp as the water technique caught him in the chest and cleaved him in two, surging past him to strike a nearby cart of produce and bisect that as well. The woman jumped back as Naruto suddenly exploded in a puff of smoke, clearly not fooled.

From his vantage point on the rooftops, Naruto hurled a fistful of shuriken into the sky. They arced up and began to fall down, to which he made a hand seal and focussed his chakra.

_Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!_

The handful of shuriken blurred and became a thousand, and they slammed into the ground in a devastating clatter. The woman was torn to shreds as she was enveloped, jerking back and collapsing to the ground. Naruto wasn't fooled at all, his eyes hard and his face grim as the sound of chains rattled in his ears, and it came to no surprise to him when a flicker of movement caught the corner of his eye. He turned in a flash, head rearing back, and spat out a mouthful of glowing flame- and the broken, wooden remains of the cart from the street was torn asunder, shredded by the terrible white flame.

Behind it, however, the woman continued her charge, holding a slim, rapier-like sword, and she thrust it into his chest. The shadow clone of Uzumaki Naruto didn't even get a chance to look surprised as it exploded in a puff of smoke, and the real Naruto made a single hand-seal as he gestured to the rooftop on the other side of the street.

_Detonate!_

Half a real of Grade 2 explosive tags sizzled and went off in a fiery ball of flame that rose up into the air. The windows and wooden houses around them rumbled, but Naruto had positioned the tags away from the street and into the air and the apart from the flaming ruins of the shop roof, there seemed to be no collateral damage. The smoke rose into the air, hiding the remains of his enemy from view.

_Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!_

A gust of wind tore from Naruto's outstretched palms and blew the smoke away, revealing a sphere of water falling to the ground. The woman underneath looked a little singed, and smoke curdled from the bottom of her black robe. From behind her cracked mask, Naruto could tell she was glaring at him, and he felt a little tingle of grim satisfaction as he noticed that her stolen headband had been destroyed in the blast, revealing a short cut of dark hair.

There was a flash of light and a series of high-pitch whines, and Naruto could see Towa fending off an attack, his arm glowing scarlet with runes as he formed a makeshift crossbow in his hand and shot a series of blasts of red power at his opponent. Kage and the operative with the bloodied sword had disappeared between the alleys, two dark streaks fighting in the narrow space, metal clashing upon metal in a shower of sparks, while Yuuka danced out of her opponents reach, hurling kunai, shuriken and the occasional genjutsu to disorient and confuse.

The female operative on the other side of the street cocked her head at the sound of some unknown signal and made a single hand-seal. Naruto flipped through his own hand-seals at the same time, but he was too late to stop her. Even as a scythe of wind blasted from his hands at waist level, explosions rocked several parts of the town and giant plumes of black smoke rose into the air. Naruto's next technique, a series of blazing streaks of fire, soared far above the girl as she chose to bend backwards at the waist instead of jump over the technique. Then, she threw a series of smoke bombs down, as did the rest of her teammates, and disappeared from sight.

By the time the smoke had cleared, the enemy operatives were gone. All that was left behind was the devastated and destroyed street, with flames and smoke rising in the distance, along with the fallen, screaming bodies of the civilians, the approaching Military Police and the shuriken and kunai that were embedded in the walls and cobbled streets.

The fight had been over in thirty-seconds.

"Shit," Naruto growled. He jumped from the rooftop and landed on the ground, his eyes raking the streets. Many of the protestors that had been struck with the powerful lightning technique had gone still. Naruto absently rubbed his hand through his hair, his heart racing and the surging emotions of revulsion and self-disgust threatening to overwhelm him. "_Shit!_"

The enemy operatives had done it again. They had taken the guise of Leaf-Nin, hacked apart the protestors, enflamed the situation and escaped without capture- and all on Naruto's watch. It had happened again!

While he stood there, Towa and Yuuka had taken off their masks and they were tending to the fallen civilians. Kage appeared from the alleyway, a vertical cut in his mask, but his black machete-like blade gleamed with fresh blood and he gave off a quiet air of satisfaction. Hopefully the wound had been significant.

Naruto would have been happy to stand there in his fit of self-deprecation, but a gurgling noise caught his attention and he turned. His eyes widened as he saw a young girl pinned to the wall by one of the slim, steel blades that the operatives had been carrying. He ran towards her, darting over the fallen produce and broken glass, and examined her. She was a young thing, maybe six or seven, with curly dark hair and dimples. Her face was pale and tears streaked down her cheeks, and Naruto looked down to examine the blade. It had been lodged in her chest in such a way to avoid an immediate kill, but the rapidly expanding pool of blood beneath her feet meant that she was quickly bleeding to death.

Naruto grasped the hilt of the sword and carefully slid it from the girl's chest. It left with a squelching noise, and the young ANBU tossed it away with disgust, catching the girl as she fell limply to the ground. The streets were alive with the sound of running footsteps, and shouts, scream and wails of terror and sorrow. Amid all of that, Naruto worked frantically to try and save the girl's life.

He failed.


	38. Suspension

**A/N: I usually don't like to respond to questions or reviews in the authors note, since I believe that 'showing' is also better than 'telling', but given how many people seem to be, well, dare I say 'missing the point', here I go.  
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**The black-ops team vs Team Sigma has nothing to do with 'power' or 'strength'. Lots of you keep saying 'NARUTO SHOULD BE STRONGER!1!'. ****Power has nothing to do with it. So far, the two teams had clashed three times, and none lasted more than thirty-seconds.**

**- The first time, they retreated, they didn't even fight**

**- The second time, Naruto retreated, his objective was too important to risk**

**- Last chapter, they retreated, their objective partially finished and well aware that there was a pissed-off ANBU team after them.**

**What's happening isn't about power or techiques, or who's stronger than who. It's about goals, and who's reaching them. The black-ops team is winning because their reaching their goals of causing chaos, and just that. It's not a straight-up fight with one team on one side and the enemy opposite them. That's not the goal of the enemy- it's to cause terror, fear, suspicion and paranoia.**

**A mix of psy-ops and terrorism, really. They're doing it well. You might not like it, or might not like the direction of the story, but I couldn't really write anything else. When placing myself in those shoes 'what would I do?' sort of idea-generating I do when writing, I couldn't picture the enemy doing anything but what they're doing now- and I couldn't see a single, logical way that Naruto could stop. If you can, feel free to share.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Thirty-Eight<strong>

**'Suspension'**

By the time Team Sigma had returned to Konoha, the sun had gone down. Naruto had led his team out of the Kinjo Family Estate as soon as it had become apparent that the enemy black-ops team had retreated. Apart from some minor wounds on Towa, the ANBU squad had come out of the conflict fairly well. There had been no causalities on Team Sigma's side, but by the time Naruto had left the scene of the battle, there were at least forty-seven dead civilians, and triple that number in wounded. The explosions that had been detonated around the town had been the result of fragmentation bombs, and the shrapnel had torn through nearby unlucky people with very messy results.

Luckily, Komachi, Daichi and Sasuke hadn't encountered the other two members of the six-member enemy squad- although not from lack of trying. Daichi had been able to steer clear of the two patrolling members and had lost them in the forests surrounding the town, even as the two operatives had started a forest fire that had consumed half-an-acre before the chakra fuelling the flames had dwindled and the fires had been snuffed out.

With the asset secured, Naruto led Team Sigma back to Konoha as quickly as they could. Kinjo Takahrio spent most of the journey in an induced sleep, slung over Kage's shoulder lack a sack of rice. Now, late in the evening and with the lights of Konoha twinkling in the night, Naruto stood at the head of Team Sigma, his face blank and his emotions forced deep down into the pit of his stomach. He could hear the chains rattling deep within his psyche, but at the moment he didn't care. The rest of Team Sigma stood behind him, backs straight and unmoving. Kinjo Takahrio stood to the side, his clothes ruffled and his face showing his displeasure.

At the other end of the office, the Third Hokage sat in his chair, slowly puffing on his pipe. The glow of the embers lit up the darkened room, the only other light coming from a pair of flickering candles on his desk. Two blank-masked ANBU flanked him, standing rigidly at attention. To his credit, Takahiro held his composure fairly well, even as the blank masks of the other ANBU agents turned to gaze at him.

"Good evening, Hokage-sama," Takahiro greeted coolly. He gave a shallow bow, one that met the exact requirements of politeness and nothing more. "I have a great many things to talk to you about, especially in regards to the intolerable treatment I have received at the hands of your soldiers."

The Hokage puffed on his pipe and blew a cloud of smoke into the air. It drifted there, the light from the candles flickering through it, giving it a hazy, murky quality. His face was impossible to read, and had there not been other people in the room or had the atmosphere been less tense, one might have mistaken him for an old man reminiscing on better times. He said nothing.

In an almost-imperceptible change of expression, Naruto could see that Takahiro was slight-flustered by the Hokage's lack of response.

"Nonetheless," the noble continued, straightening out his robes with his hands, "You have summoned me and here I am." There was a touch of something like bitterness in his voice as he spread out his hands, palms facing outwards. "I was told you have questions for me. Ask them now, so that I may leave you tend to the _mess_ that your men made in my home."

The Hokage tapped his pipe on the edge of his desk and put it in his pocket. The two ANBU agents beside him didn't move as Sarutobi rose, idly smoothing out his small goatee.

"You are correct, Lord Kinjo," Sarutobi replied quietly. "I do have very many questions for you." He reached down onto his desk and picked up a single piece of paper. "And you must answer honestly. If you like, I'm afraid that there will be nothing more than I can do for you."

"Lying is the business of criminals and shinobi, Sarutobi," Takahiro retorted sharply. He sniffed, and reached into his fancy robes to pull out a silk handkerchief, dabbing his nose with it. "I am a Justice of the Flame. See that you do not forget it."

"If you are a Justice then why do you consort with traitors and criminals?" Sarutobi's voice rose with genuine anger. He thrust the piece of paper in front of Takahiro's face, and the noble snatched it from him. "Explain this, _Justice!_"

The regal noble examined the piece of paper and his eyes widened. He froze, reading whatever was on it, and glanced furtively at Sarutobi. The Third Hokage looked absolutely furious, his eyes blazing, and Naruto reflexively flinched at the sight. Never before had he seen the Hokage like this, not once in the seven years he had served him.

Whatever was on the paper was enough to unsettle Takahrio, and he breathed in sharply. He seemed relatively unaffected by the Hokage's temper, and carelessly scrunched the paper up and threw it away.

"I need to explain _nothing_," Takahiro answered, his voice deathly quiet. He drew himself up. "You do not have the authority, nor do you have the power, do detain me any longer. If you want to continue asking me questions, you may make an appointment."

He turned, as if to leave, and Sarutobi's hand shot up. Immediately, Naruto stepped to the side, standing in front of the noble man, blocking his path to the door. Takahiro glared down at him, not intimidated by the ANBU mask or Naruto's status as a shinobi.

"Get out of my way, _boy,_" he commanded curtly. "Detain me any longer and not even the Third Hokage will be able to protect you from the wrath of the Fire Lord. I am his trusted advisor, his close confidant. When his father passed, it was I that took the newly-established Fire Lord and helped consolidate his power. Do not think that he will choose _you_ over me, shinobi, despite your 'reputation'."

Naruto did not move, the threats sliding over him like oil over water. In the end, they meant nothing to him.

The Hokage interjected here.

"I would not be so sure of your position, Lord Kinjo," he said quietly.

He reached onto his table and produced a scroll entwined with a golden ribbon and the seal of the Fire Lord. The old man carelessly chucked it greying man, and the banking magnate caught it. The sight of the seal was enough to give him pause, and his eyes widened behind his glasses as he opened the scroll and read it. For the first time, he looked truly rattled, and emotion bled into his face.

"It cannot be," he murmured. He shook his head in furtive denial. "He cannot have done this." He whirled around, glaring at the Third Hokage. "This is a fake!"

Sarutobi smiled thinly. "I have no need for a fake when I possess the real thing," he answered. Something dark glinted in his eyes. "You're mine, Lord Kinjo, to do as I see fit, and not a single person in the Fire Court will lift a finger to help. You _will _ answer my questions."

"I'll answer nothing!" Takahiro hissed furiously. His face was white with fury, his hands clenched around the scroll, crumpling the paper. "I have nothing to say to you, _kingslayer!_"

"Who approached you, Kinjo?" Sarutobi asked quietly, ignoring the man's taunts. "Who turned you against your own Lord?"

When the Lord said nothing and continued to stand there defiantly, the Hokage jerked his head. The two blank-masked ANBU next to him strode forward and seized the noble by the arms none-too-gently. Takahiro hissed with pain and surprise as he was yanked off the ground. The office was deathly quiet, and Team Sigma remained where they were, unmoving.

"You will answer my questions," Sarutobi told him in the silence. "The level of coercion from us will, in the end, depend on your cooperation. Answer my questions and this need not be painful. You may even regain a measure of your old life back given enough time."

Kinjo licked his lips. "Kazuma," he whispered furtively. "It was Kazuma."

The name was of no significance to Naruto, but the Third Hokage drew back, his eyes widening slightly. Then, he shook his head in disgust.

"Take him down to your commander," the old man told the blank-masked ANBU. "Make him spill his secrets. Tear open his mind and loosen his tongue until he talks."

"Sarutobi!" Takahiro screamed. His face was red with fury. "Your said-"

"You are a _traitor_, Kinjo!" Sarutobi roared, and the sudden rise in volume made everybody in the office sans the two unknown ANBU flinch. The Hokage took a deep breath and regained his cool. "I cannot _abide traitors!_" He spat out with almost a snarl. "You'll receive no mercy from me."

He turned around, waving the ANBU off, and the two masked figures began to drag the man out of the room.

"Kingslayer!" Takahiro roared, spittle flying from his mouth as he struggled uselessly against his captor's grip. "You dare call me a traitor? Kingslayer Sarutobi! Murderer of-"

He voice abruptly vanished as the two ANBU agents disappeared in a _Body Flicker_. Naruto and the rest of Team Sigma was left alone in the office of the Hokage. Sarutobi took a deep breath and turned to face them, his face hard.

"Good work, Sigma Squad," he congratulated them. "Your mission was a success. I gather from his comments, however, that a problem may have presented itself?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama," Naruto said stoically. He bowed his head. "Once again, we were attacked by an unknown black-ops team. It was the same team that's attacked us before. They dressed as Leaf-Nin and attacked the local population." He shifted on his feet. "We engaged and they escaped, but there was..."

An image of the impaled child, her blood flowing on his hands, flittered into his mind, and he pushed it away, down and down until the emotions that it brought with it subsided into something numb. All the while, the chains rattled hungrily in his ear.

"There was significant collateral damage," he finished a beat later.

"Very well," the Hokage said. He didn't look particularly surprised or upset. "I'll expect a full report from each of you tomorrow morning." He gave each of them a piercing look, lingering on Sasuke. "I deem everything that occurred on your mission as information pertaining to the security of this village, and I'm censoring it. Your mission is now an S-rank report, and as such, the usual rules and penalties _will_ apply should you divulge it. Understood?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama!" Team Sigma chorused as once.

"Good." Then the Hokage's face softened. "Now, go home and get some rest. I'm sure that I'll need you once more in the coming days."

* * *

><p>The Hokage had ordered him to rest. Nonetheless, Naruto was having a hard to obeying that order. He lay on his back in bed, his room dark and his eyes wide open, staring at the roof. The alarm clock on the bedside table beside him read 02:46, and Naruto watched is it shifted a number to read 02:47. He let out a quiet exhale and rolled over, pulling the covers over his shoulders and squeezing his eyes shut.<p>

Sleep continued to elude him. The chains would _not_ stop rattling. He gritted his teeth, clenched his fists and took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. Unfortunately, it only made things worse, and so, to shut those blasted things up, Naruto was forced to let his mind wander.

He stared at the face of the little dead girl. He stared at the fallen bodies of the civilians. He stared at the rising smoke coming from the buildings around him- Minoru, staring up at him accusingly even as he prepped the explosive tags that would take his head off- of Mantis and his squad being mercilessly crushed by a dark-chakra empowered Uzumaki – of the countless men, women and children who had exploded as Hidan and the cultists laughed and jeered- the crushing weight of Frog shielding him from a Sky-Nin explosion with his own body…

"Fucking hell," Naruto swore abruptly. He slammed his fist into his pillow, feeling more pissed off with himself than with others. "Get a fucking grip on yourself!"

He paused, hearing the sound of his own harsh breathing.

"And stop talking to yourself," he muttered, settling back into bed. "People will think you're crazy."

Naruto closed his eyes as the fatigue of the day finally began to settle on him. His last coherent thought was of Frog shielding him and the others with his body. He never did get the name of that Akamichi.

_What was the name of the girl, I wonder?_

It felt like he had only gotten a few minutes sleep, but when his eyes snapped open he could see the first rays of sunshine beginning to come into his window. Naruto darted a look to the left, looking for the presence that had disturbed his rest, idly noting the time of 06:18 on the clock beside him. The intruder turned out to be a masked ANBU agent, and the single blue line going down the centre of his strip indicated that he was from Alpha Platoon.

"Uzumaki Naruto," the ANBU operative said in an emotionless tone. "You have been summoned by the Hokage. You must present yourself to him immediately."

Naruto frowned, but he was already getting out of bed, his pulse racing. He reached into his bedside table for a ration bar, scarfing it down as he quickly changed into his uniform with a press on his tattoo. The ANBU operative nodded once Naruto was done and held out a hand as the young blond prepared to use the _Body Flicker_.

"I have been instructed to escort you," the man said tonelessly.

Naruto froze at that. He straightened, and slowly nodded even as the man took his arm and they disappeared into a _Body Flicker_. As they reappeared in the office of the Hokage, Naruto looked around and saw that the rest of Sigma Team was standing there at attention. Sasuke looked blearily-eyed, but they widened when they saw Naruto. Everybody stared at him as he entered the room, from his squad, to Nara Shikaku standing by the Hokage's side, and the two advisors to the Hokage, Homura and Koharu. The only person not to look at Naruto was Sarutobi, who stared down at his desk, his face expressionless.

The ANBU agent by his side let go of his arm and bowed his head at the Hokage. Naruto followed suit, and then moved to stand before the Hokage's table. Anxiety was bubbling in the pit of his stomach, and his tongue was tingling. The atmosphere in the office was tense, even tenser than it had been last night. Something was wrong. Something was terribly wrong.

"Uzumaki Naruto, reporting as ordered, Hokage-sama," he said quietly, breaking the silence with his voice.

The Hokage didn't speak, and Nara Shikaku cleared his throat.

"Tell us about the girl, Naruto," he commanded.

Naruto cocked his head in confusion. "Sir?" he asked in a puzzled tone.

"The girl with the sword in her stomach," Shikaku elaborated. There was nothing lazy in his voice now, and he stared down Naruto clinically, like a scientist observing a specimen- or a police officer a suspect. "Tell us everything you know about her."

Oh. _Her._

"I first observed the girl in the aftermath of the explosions," Naruto reported. "The enemy operatives had just escaped. I chose not to pursue them. They had inflicted a lot of collateral damage. There were many civilians and non-combatants injured or dead, and…"

"The _girl_,_" _Koharu interjected sharply.

Naruto swallowed. "The girl was maybe six or seven. She had dark hair, dimples, and blue eyes. Muscle tone indicated a civilian child that saw little to no strenuous activity. She had been stabbed and pinned to a wall. The sword had slid between the second and third rib, and it had cut an artery. I attempted to remove the sword and stem the bleeding. I failed, and she died."

Shikaku stroked his goatee and nodded. "It certainly fits the story that we've been told so far," he said to the others, his eyes flickering over Team Sigma. "And it certainly fits the methods of the black-ops team that they have demonstrated so far."

"It's unacceptable," Homura said, his voice tight with restrained anger. "The backlash that this village will face…" He shook his head. "We've worked hard to maintain a client-friendly image. _This_ does not help!"

"We have bigger things to worry about," Koharu interjected. She jabbed her finger at something down on the desk. "Uzumaki was targeted because of his proximity and status to the Hokage. This will be effective. How long before other premier shinobi are targeted? Kakashi? Gai? My word, all they would need is Asuma to…"

"Enough," the Hokage broke in. He sounded weary and old, but his voice was enough to shut everybody up. His eyes rose from the desk and he beckoned Naruto closer. "Come here. You need to see something."

Naruto approached the desk, dread rising with every footstep, and he came to stand beside the Hokage. What he saw made him flinch, and he almost lost his footing as he staggered back, face white and stricken. On the Hokage's desk was a poster, much similar to the other propaganda posters that had been circulating the Land of Fire since the Chunin Exams, and on that poster was himself.

And the girl.

It was a picture, a terribly perfect picture taken at precisely the wrong moment. Naruto stood over the dying young girl, one hand on the hilt of the bloodied steel blade. The exertion on his face must have pulled back his lips and his teeth were showing, and in that one, misleading moment, something that any other person would have deemed a 'smile' was on his face. The words above and below the picture only served to condemn him even further.

"_Uzumak Naruto, Sarutobi's attack dog!"_

"_The 'Right Hand of God' is the 'Right Hand of Evil'!"_

"_Shinobi. Butcher. Murderer."_

"Sir… Hokage-sama…" Naruto began, his voice very small and pleading. "This isn't…"

"Of course it isn't!" Sarutobi snapped, and the old man rose, his fury sharpening his face. "But, once again, Naruto, you have been outmanoeuvred, and now this is the price of your defeat!"

Naruto flinched as if struck as the Hokage whirled on him, his voice rising into a furious shout.

"You are a highly-trained elite shinobi! Yet, these operatives have run rings around you and your entire team! Three times you have led your team into an ambush that has tarnished the reputation of this village and myself! You have blundered into traps and schemes and fallen for them completely and utterly. You are not a child, Uzumaki Naruto, yet you have been tricked and played like one!"

Sarutobi paused to take a breath, anger flickering over his face. His fists were clenched, his eyes hard and his face utterly merciless. Not a single person in the room made a noise. Even his advisors wore carefully crafted masks of composure. Team Sigma didn't so much as twitch, and they could have been carved from stone and nobody would have been able to tell the difference.

"The girl," Sarutobi continued, his voice softer but no less intense, "was the daughter of a River Country Baron- the richest and most powerful baron of the west. He's already pulling out his money from the Land of Fire!" He took a deep breath. "Whatever your past records, whatever your deeds, they matter not now! Not only has your reputation been destroyed, but you have been the Leaf-Nin that has just made a sizable dent in the profit margins of the most powerful people in the Land of Fire. They will take you up to task, and _we will not be able to protect you!_"

Naruto stood still, his eyes wide. His mouth was agape, yet he could not find the energy to move it. Sarutobi- no, the _Third Hokage_, sat back down in his seat and shook his head.

"I must now act in the best interests of the Village," the old man said quietly.

Nara Shikaku took over from there. "Uzumaki Naruto," he said emotionlessly, and he did not look like he took any pleasure from what he was doing. "You are being relieved from active duty effective immediately. You are dismissed from your position in ANBU, and from any roles and responsibilities that you may hold."

Naruto listened with growing dread as Shikaku continued.

"You are now confined to the Village. You will have a senior Jonin supervising you at all times. Should you attempt to leave the Village, you will be executed on the spot. You are not to contact any shinobi on active duty. You are disbarred from accessing any of the Villages resources with a security-level of two or over. You may not sign up for any missions, and your accounts and assets are frozen."

Naruto could barely hear the man. He had listened with growing dread as he was stripped from everything that he had obtained in the last six years. He desperately tried to make eye contact with the Hokage, but the old man had his eyes shut and refused to open them. There was a tap on his shoulder and he jerked back, startled.

"Do you understand the conditions?" Nara Shikaku asked again.

"Yes," Naruto answered with barely more than a whisper. He licked his lips and swallowed. "Permission to be dismissed, sir."

Shikaku nodded. "Granted."

Naruto fled from the office, leaving the shattered remains of his life behind.

* * *

><p>The Village was a blur around him as Naruto bounded across the roof-tops, trying to get as far away from the Hokage's Tower as possible. The sounds of conversation, laughter and coins drifted from below him as he bounded from one roof-top to the next, right over a large street full of produce stalls. He steered away from the patrol of shinobi walking the streets and aimed for the large forested section ahead of him. His heart was pounding in his chest, although his body felt cold and numb he could feel sweat beading on his forehead. The corners of his eyes prickled and his vision began to blur. Luckily, he had just made it to the forested training areas and he fled deep inside, far away from anybody else.<p>

After five minutes of constant running, Naruto collapsed underneath a large oak tree in the middle of one of the Training Grounds. It was unused, as were the other four areas around him, and there wasn't likely going to be anybody nearby. Naruto swallowed, his throat raw, and he was panting. His thoughts were a mess, he couldn't- what had just- his entire career- all he had done…

Deep within him, in the distant, dark recesses of his mind that Naruto _never_ chose to look out, thoughts began to emerge. How couldthey? After everything he had sacrificed, after the pain and the training, after seeing friends die, after saving the Village- how _could they_? Righteous indignation and a terrible anger began to build up. He clenched his fists, shuddering, his face twisting up. The chains rattled and howled in the depths of his mind, echoing in the vast sewer tunnels. In a sudden burst of furious rage, and with an incoherent scream, Naruto whirled around with an outstretched hand. A whirring sphere of bright light appeared in his hand and he drove the _rasengan _into the tree branch. It struck with enough force to pulverise three-quarters of the thick trunk in an instant.

Naruto was panting as he stood still, his arm outstretched, and he watched as the tree slowly to succumb to the power of gravity and its own weight and fell. The ground shuddered with the impact, and some part of Naruto felt extraordinarily pleased at the destruction he had just caused. The feeling of elation didn't last long.

The chains continued to rattle in his mind, haunting his every though, and with a strangled yell Naruto clasped his hands over his ears.

"Shut up! Just shut the fuck up!" he roared. He gripped his skull, his teeth bare in a vicious snarl. "I swear, I'll…"

A hand came to rest on his shoulder and Naruto flinched, interrupted. He whirled around with impeccable reflexes and his hand glowed with the power of a _rasengan_ once more. The intruder jerked to the side as Naruto instinctively dove it towards their stomach- but he missed, and slammed it into another tree. Using the momentum of the blast, even as another tree trunk was reduced to splinters, Naruto whirled around, his leg flying up and a kunai glinting in his hand. His arm was caught in a vice-like grip, and his kick thudded on an armguard, Naruto finally caught a glimpse of his attacked.

Hatake Kakashi stared back at him intently. He held none of the air of the lazy, easy-going man that most knew him as, and he held Naruto's kunai barely inches away from his face. Naruto was breathing harshly, but once he met Kakashi's lone eye he stopped pushing against the grey-haired man. Kakashi nodded and released Naruto, and the young blond noted with a vicious sense of satisfaction that the older man twitched his fingers from where he had kicked him.

The other man was silent for a few moments as Naruto put away his kunai. The only sound in the clearing was that of the second tree falling to the ground with a boom and shudder. The elite Jonin eyed the two trees and twitched his fingers again.

"Not doing so well," he offered somewhat lamely.

Naruto stopped inspecting the damaged clearing and stared at the other Jonin for a moment.

"No shit," he snapped after a beat.

Kakashi nodded and sighed. He rubbed the back of his head, opened his mouth underneath his facemask to say something, and then thought better of it. For a few minutes, the two Jonin just stood there. The presence of the other man was irritating at first, but Naruto could feel his temper subsiding. His emotions were draining out of him, and with every exhale it left him a little calmer. The noises of the chains had died away, retreating back into their dark home as Naruto stopped feeding them.

And then he laughed.

It wasn't a nice laugh, and he could see Kakashi watching him very carefully.

"I just realised," Naruto said between gasps of breath. He shook his head, smiling and continuing to chuckle, "With my reduced security clearance, I don't actually have a home to back to." He laughed again and looked up at the sky.

"Ah, well, probably not that funny," Kakashi said after a few moments as Naruto kept laughing hysterically.

"Oh, it's hilarious!" Naruto chuckled. He rubbed his eyes, took a deep breath and rubbed his hands together. "This whole situation is just fucking hilarious, Kakashi."

Kakashi, who usually took in everything with an air of nonchalance, looked unusually disturbed. Naruto finished chuckling and shook his head, partly in bemusement and partly in dismay.

"Are you my watcher?" he asked Kakashi.

Kakashi rubbed the back of his head and nodded. "Yep," he answered brightly. "It was going to be this other guy, but I _persuaded _him that I'd be a better choice." He gave Naruto a thumbs-up. "We're stuck with each other now!"

"Cool," Naruto responded after a beat. He smiled a tad bitterly. "I'd say you'll get into trouble, but they might like having somebody like you watching me. After all, if you need to put me down, you probably could."

"Ah, I dunno…" Kakashi wiggled his fingers, smiling underneath his mask sheepishly. Then, he stuck a finger in his ear and scratched it. "Anyway, have you had breakfast yet?"

Naruto could feel the hunger in his stomach, and he shook his head.

"Come on then." Kakashi gestured back at Konoha. "We'll go to my place. I have pancakes."

"I do like pancakes," Naruto murmured thoughtfully.

"What a coincidence! So do I!" Kakashi exclaimed cheerfully.

The young ex-ANBU operative allowed Kakashi to steer him away from the mangled remains of the fallen trees and back towards Konoha. The feeling of the man's hand on his back was strangely comforting to Naruto, and he even pretended not to see a pack of little pups dart back towards Konoha bearing Kakashi's message.

When they finally arrived at Kakashi's tiny apartment, the grey-haired man opened the door and gestured for Naruto to enter. The _Jinchuuriki_ did so, and stopped short in the middle of the doorframe. In the kitchen, he could see Komachi and Towa covered in flour, prodding each other and bickering as they fought over a bowl. Yuuka was lazing back on the couch, throwing a rubber ball at Kage, the latter absently swatting it away with one hand every single time as he poured over a crossword puzzle. Daichi and Sasuke were in the corner, a game board between them, and they studied it intently.

"I'm ~home!" Kakashi called out cheerfully from behind him.

The entire apartment stilled. His team- his _former_ team looked up at him- and Naruto looked back and saw nothing but reassurance and support. His lips twitched and he nodded at them. Sasuke closed his eyes, huffed and looked away, smiling slightly, while Komachi used the opportunity to sucker-punch Towa in the rib and grab the bowl. As Yuuka came towards him, enveloping him in a tight hug and squealing about something nonsensical, Naruto let out a huff of forced annoyance. Kakashi closed the door behind him, his lone eye crinkling up into a smile.

* * *

><p>They came for him after dark.<p>

They had eaten dinner a couple of hours ago, and despite everything, Team Sigma had stuck around for the whole day. The team had been put on suspension for the foreseeable future and the paper-pushers, either accidentally or deliberately, hadn't gotten around to assigning them anything else. As they weren't 'shinobi on active duty', there was nothing in Naruto's restrictions that said he couldn't talk to them or vice versa.

And talk to him they did. Their support for him was unanimous, from Yuuka's bubble enthusiasm, Daichi's measured reassurance, Kage's stoicism or Sasuke's 'I give a crap but I'll pretend that I don't', they kept him talking about distracted for the entire day. Despite all that had happened, it had ended up being one of the best days in recent memory.

Then there had been a knock on the door. Kakashi had answered it.

Four ANBU with blue-striped masks flanked a man wearing the sash of the Twelve Guardians. They had barged their way in, sliding past Kakashi as if he didn't exist, and loomed over Naruto as he sat cross-legged on the couch with a bowl of chips in front of him.

"Uzumaki Naruto, you will come with us," the member of the Twelve Guardians intoned. He reached down to grab the young blond- and then an arm shot out and grasped his own.

Kakashi stood there, smiling politely behind his face mask. The ANBU members tensed, but then from around the room the rest of Team Sigma stood up from what they had been doing. They didn't like friendly, either.

"Mah, mah," Kakashi uttered lightly, holding the arm with what looked to be a tight grip. "What's this about? After all, I'm the one responsible for him, so I can't really let you take him like that."

"The Hokage has ordered that Uzumaki Naruto be brought to him," the tallest of the ANBU agents in the room intoned. "You will comply, Hatake Kakashi."

"Ah, fair enough," Kakashi said cheerfully and released the man's arm. The Guardian rubbed it, staring balefully at the older Jonin. "You won't mind if I tag along then, would you?"

"Only Uzumaki Naruto has been requested," the ANBU operative said, and his voice was more insistent. "Stand down, Kakashi."

"It's okay," Naruto broke the tension, standing up and taking a deep breath. He turned to the Guardian, ignoring the clenched fists and tightened faces of his former team. "I'm ready to go."

They arrived at the Hokage's Office in a few minutes, and the ANBU guard stopped at the door. Naruto spared them one last glance and then entered, the Guardian trailing after him. The room was dark and Sarutobi Hiruzen sat in his chair along, his hands clasped and his face inscrutable as he stared up at Naruto. Naruto bowed his head and came to stand before the desk.

"I have an update on your situation," the Hokage said. He gestured at an unravelled scroll, the golden thread dangling uselessly from one end of the paper. "What happened at the Kinjo Family Estate cannot be ignored. The Fire Lord has summoned both you and me to the Capital in three days' time. We will face a Tribunal, and we will have to answer some questions."

"Yes, Hokage-sama," Naruto uttered, and kept his eyes straight.

Sarutobi looked past him at stared at the Guardian for one moment. The man in the crimson sash bowed his head and turned around. Naruto heard the door open and close, and then both master and apprentice were alone in the office. Naruto couldn't even look at the old man, a strange mixture of hurt, shame and anger stopping him from making eye contact. The Hokage seemed to recognise this and he sighed, a very weary sound.

"We've been played well, Naruto," Sarutobi said tiredly. "What happens in three days may not end well for you. The Land of Fire is in strife, and the Fire Lord will do what he must to keep the peace, even if he needs to condemn the shinobi that saved his daughter's life. There are powerful political forces at play here."

"Yes, Hokage-sama," Naruto murmured, still staring at a distant spot on the wall.

"Look at me, Naruto," Sarutobi suddenly commanded. When Naruto did not obey, he pressed on, his tone firm. _"Look at me_."

Naruto's eyes flickered down, and he saw Sarutobi staring back at him. There was resolve in his eyes, and determination.

"This isn't over just yet," the Third Hokage said. "The black-ops team has had a series of stunning successes. They had achieved their mission quite possibly beyond all expectation. They will be confident and assured of their victory. We will use that against them."

He leaned back in his chair.

"Only you and I shall travel to the Capital," he continued. "At the same time, half of the Twelve Guardians will depart a day earlier with the Fire Lord's son. Security will be reduced, Leaf-Nin presence at the Capital will be unwelcome, and many of the private guards of the Nobles will be barred from entering."

He rubbed his hands together, his eyes distant.

"We will bait a trap for them, Naruto," the old man finished, his voice hard. "We will lure them in, and then we will utterly crush them." His eyes swung back to Naruto. "Do you like the sound of that?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama," Naruto whispered dangerously. He clenched his fists. "That sounds perfect, Hokage-sama."

"I thought you would approve," Sarutobi continued. He paused. "You understand why I had to do certain things, yes? Appearances had to be met, and I needed a genuine reaction from you." He met Naruto's eyes firmly, and the blond ANBU could see nothing but reassurance in them. "Nobody doubts your commitment to the Village. Nobody doubts your loyalty. Indeed, in this, the shinobi will rally behind you."

He pulled out his pipe and swung on his chair, facing the window and staring out into the night sky.

"Three days, Naruto. Three days."

"Yes, Hokage-sama," Naruto said, and his voice was much stronger than when he had first come in.

The Hokage sighed and puffed on his pipe. Naruto continued to stand there, waiting one minute, and then two, and then almost five. The room was dark, and the embers of Sarutobi's pipe drifted out into the window.

"I did it," he suddenly said quietly. Sarutobi cleared his throat and turned his head to look at Naruto. "I ordered the assassination of the fourteenth Fire Lord."

Naruto stood still.

"He was getting old," Sarutobi explained, and chuckled somewhat at that. "Alas, the irony is quite amusing, but he truly was getting old. His dementia was getting worse. He was forgetting things, suspecting things that weren't true, seeing assassins in the shadows. He was going to remove Konoha as a Hidden Village, and expel shinobi from his borders."

"I see…" Naruto murmured.

"Such a thing could not come to pass," Sarutobi continued. He puffed on his pipe. "For the sake of peace stability, I did what I had to do."

"Does the Fire Lord know?" Naruto asked.

Sarutobi smiled thinly. "I believe it was his idea," he replied. "Of course, he held no love for his father. Nonetheless, there were those that were loyal. The Twelve Guardians have always served the Fire Lord, the person and not the station, and the 14th never went anywhere without half-a-dozen of them. For the sake of peace, we had to slay them too. Unfortunately, it seems that one of them managed to escape."

"Kazuma," Naruto supplied the name grimly.

Sarutobi nodded. "His political ideas were always strange, and our assassination will have only vindicated his opinions. He is a dangerous opponent, Naruto. I shall send you some reading material. Study up, and be prepared. I sincerely doubt that our enemies will let such a tempting target go past them without having at least the tiniest of nibbles- and when they do…"

"I'll kill them!" Naruto growled.

* * *

><p><strong>And just before I cop it yet again, I couldn't see Sarutobi NOT reacting in the way he does as once again his Village cops the blame. People who are frustrated and pissed-off, even if it's not your fault, tend to lose their shit regardless. Misery loves company, and people like to vent.<br>**


	39. The Coup: Part I

**Chapter Thirty-Nine**

The Coup

For the next two days, Uzumaki Naruto kept his head low and tried his very best to avoid interaction with anybody. Kakashi had put him on the couch, and Naruto took one of the very few opportunities he could to sleep in and have an uneventful morning. By the time he got up, Kakashi was long gone, and Naruto would grab something to eat and head out to one of the training grounds. He knew that Training Ground 14 was listed as 'under maintenance', but he also knew that the genin who had been scheduled for the job had been redirected elsewhere, and that nobody was scheduled to clean it up for at least a week. He had it all to himself.

Naruto used those two days to prepare himself for war. He had finished his After Action Report and sent it to the Department of Intelligence so that people far smarter than he could analyse it. He doubted that anything new would come out- all it would confirm was that Konoha had a problematic security leak, mission information was being handed out to their enemies, and a black-ops team was running around somehow avoiding all of the patrols and tracking teams of Hyuuga, Aburame and Inuzuka shinobi, while still being able to plan and execute dangerous missions.

On the third day, he met with Sarutobi Hiruzen in the Hokage's Office. The two shinobi were alone, and both the Jonin Guard and the ANBU were conspicuously absent.

"Things are in motion, Naruto," Sarutobi told him. "Our loyal forces are moving, slowly but surely. Come, it's time for us to bait our enemies in."

The two quietly departed from Konoha without any fuss or fanfare. Naruto was dressed in his ANBU armour and mask, and his utility belt carried more weapons than he usually carried. He managed to sneak in an extra reel of explosive tags, just in case he needed them. Sarutobi wore the ceremonial robes of the Hokage, the white and red cloth flapping as the two powerful shinobi jumped from tree to tree, heading south towards the capital city of the Land of Fire, Kanoshi.

Halfway in their three hour journey, the two had to stop. Sarutobi leant against a tree, sweat mopping his brow as he went into a fit of loud, hacking coughs. He was almost bent over at the waist, panting harshly, while Naruto stood in the background, fists clenched but leaving the Third Hokage to his own devices. Even he couldn't tell if the coughing fit had been genuine, or if the old man had just been putting on a show for any observers. Nonetheless, nothing happened, even though Naruto was on the lookout. Had the enemy operatives wanted to assassinate them, now was the perfect time to do it.

Unless it was too perfect, and they were suspicious.

Or maybe they weren't even there at all.

Regardless or not whether they were being watched, Naruto and Sarutobi continued their journey and arrived at Kanoshi early in the afternoon. It was the largest city that Naruto had ever seen, with walls that scaled at least fifteen-metres in height, bigger than many summons. Large towers had been built into the walls, manned by men wearing the colours of the Fire Lord. Beyond the walls, sweeping farmlands stretched out for hundreds of acres, small clusters of towns. A large river ran nearby, and Naruto could see the irrigation trenches carved into the land, carrying the vital water to the necessary crops. Undoubtedly much of that water was carried into the city itself, serving the needs of a large population.

Both Sarutobi and Naruto approached the city at one of the more discreet entrances, away from the main roads and the hundreds of carts that entered and left every hour. Despite some hard looks from the men standing guard, they were allowed through without incident.

Inside, the capital city of the Land of Fire stretched out for kilometres. Tens of thousands of people- hundreds of thousands even- must have lived in those narrow, cobbled streets. Houses were packed together, sometimes so squashed it was difficult to tell when one house ended and another began. The streets were full of milling people, men, women and children moving about in the thousands on their different errands. Smoke rose into the air from one section of the city, bringing with it a faint yellow haze and a revolting smell of pollution. The noise was almost unbearable, the sound of people yelling, children giggling, babies crying and livestock braying uselessly making Naruto flinch.

It was dirty. It was smelly. It was noisy.

Naruto didn't like it at all.

Beyond the streets, houses, businesses and markets was a mound of earth, and built on that mount of earth was a large fortress. From the distance, it looked to be have been made from wood, and rose several stories into the air. The base seemed to have been made from stone, but the rest of the castle seemed to be made from wood painted in a striking display of reds and yellows. Several squat posts held up a large and gently curved roof, and its eaves covered the small balconies and outdoor areas jutting out from the main structure. The mound was surrounded by a smaller wall, blocking many of the lower levels, but at the top of the castle was a brightly-lit flame that was visible even now in the daylight. It burned without fuel or smoke, a constant presence on the city that had never once been unlit.

Naruto would have been quite interested to keep enjoying the sights, but he drew back next to the Hokage and tensed as he felt several figures approaching them. A flicker of movement was all the warning he had as four figures appeared before them. They all wore white vests, similar to the flak vest of a Jonin. A thick crimson sash draped across their chest, and two of them wore swords on their backs. These elite shinobi, the members of the Twelve Guardians, stared both Naruto and Sarutobi down for a moment. Naruto got the impression that they didn't care that Sarutobi was the Hokage at all.

Finally, the lead Guardian approached them. It was a man, grizzled and unshaven, with sharp eyes, a lean frame and the air of somebody who knew how to put up a good fight. He gave a shallow bow of his head.

"Hokage-sama, Uzumaki Naruto, welcome to Kanoshi," he greeted them coolly. He gestured at his companions. "We are here to escort you to the Fire Lord. Please follow us."

It sounded more like a command than a request, but Sarutobi obeyed without question and Naruto hurried on after his Hokage. They did not use the _Body Flicker Technique_ to make the journey quick and easy. Rather, the Twelve Guardians took the long route through the city, walking down the main street with the Third Hokage and Naruto trailing behind them.

Naruto was grateful for his mask, because it was quite apparent that many people knew who he was. Other short, blond, ANBU operatives weren't exactly well-known, and the looks, glares and disgusted mutters he received by the populace as he walked past them were disheartening. The Jinchuuriki took it in stride, knowing the necessity and even understanding it, but he didn't like it at all.

He hadn't been treated like that for a while.

It was more of a political statement then any practicality, Naruto had decided after ten minutes of walking after the Guardians. He wasn't the best at cluing in on all of the political cues and that rubbish, and preferred a kunai to a veiled statement, but even he could read what was happening right now. The Fire Lord had summoned the most powerful shinobi in the Land of Fire, and the shinobi had obeyed. The Guardians were merely parading them around the city to show just how far the Fire Lord's reach went, and how influential the man must be.

It was annoying, but also necessary. Naruto tried to think of it as allowing the enemy operatives the time to confirm their presence here. Maybe it was also another way to try and lure them out, even if the collateral damage and casualties would have been enormous.

Nothing happened, and the small party eventually moved past the civilians, workers and traders, and moved closer towards the fortress. It loomed overhead, larger than the Hokage's Tower, and the fire burning at the top of the castle made the shadows flicker around them. They approached the smaller set of walls surrounding the fortress and were immediately passed through, the presence of the Guardians enough to bypass whatever security regulations were in place.

Inside the walls was large stretches of beautiful gardens, crisp green grass contrasting with rising cherry-blossom trees and garden beds full of exotic plants and flowers of every colour, size and shape. It was here the many of the nobles resided, dressed in their fancy- and sometimes ridiculous clothes. Naruto saw a man so bowed down by frilly lace and silken garments that he needed to rest after taking more than twenty steps. On the other hand, he saw young noble ladies wearing considerably less with their sheer, white silky robes, displaying more than what it hid, and was once again grateful for the mask but for an entirely different reason.

The chatter, murmur and high-pitched giggles that sounded entirely fake drifted towards them as they passed the upper class of the Land of Fire. Many of them fell silent, watching Sarutobi and Naruto speculatively, peering over goblets of tangy wine and eying them from the corner of the eyes, taking in everything about the two shinobi that they possibly could. Sarutobi gave away nothing- his face was blank, his eyes distant, back straight and spine unbowed. Naruto tried his best to emulate his mentor, refusing to show their audience in form of weakness.

The Guardians entered the fortress, and the Leaf-Nin followed. Inside, polished timber floors stretched out to many different hallways. Large wooden columns supported the ceiling, intricately carved decorations of famous battles and mythological creatures decorating them. Naruto saw two men facing each other by a lake, one standing upon the head of a snarling nine-tailed fox, and his eyes widened behind his mask- but the Guardians didn't stop moving and he had to leave it behind.

The ascended the stairs, moving higher and higher up into the upper reaches of the Fortress, until they had come to the very top. Another member of the Twelve Guardians stood there, a slender woman with a long, dark-braid, and she stepped to the side to let them pass without a word. They traipsed through the hallways, turning left, then right, then right and left, and finally came upon a door.

The lead Guardian knocked.

"Enter."

The Guardians stood to the side of the door and motioned for Naruto and the Sarutobi enter. Naruto gave them one last look before he followed the Hokage in.

He stepped into a warm, carpeted room. A large window was on one side of the room, showing a view that stretched out to encompass the entire capital. Bookshelves lined one of the walls, and somebody had hung up a series of ominous-looking masks. The Fire Lord sat in the middle of the room, kneeling on a plush-white cushion. Next to him, hands in her lap, was a young woman.

"Ah, Hiruzen," the Fire Lord looked up, smiling politely. "Please, come in. Sit. Rest your wearied legs."

Sarutobi smiled in an entirely insincere manner and strode to the centre of the room. He gingerly lowered himself to the cushion on the floor and knelt on it, audibly sighing as he finally came to a rest on his knees. A handful servants scurried about the room, bringing with them tea and platters of treats. Naruto took a place by the Hokage's shoulder, remaining at alert as the servants scurried out, leaving the two shinobi and two nobles alone in the room.

"Was your journey pleasant?" the Fire Lord inquired as he stirred the sugar into his tea.

Sarutobi nodded. "Quite," he replied politely. "The weather this time of the year is truly lovely. The trees are in full bloom and not a single leaf fell."

"I see," the Fire Lord murmured. He took a sip from his tea. "And how is your knee?"

"As well as can be expected from a man my age," Sarutobi replied. He took a sip of his tea and tap the spoon along the side twice. "At one point, the bruises were purple, but they've cleared up."

"It wasn't infected, was it?" The Fire Lord looked genuinely concerned.

Sarutobi shook his head. "Nothing that a medic-nin could not fix within five minutes," he replied. He smiled thinly. "It just needed _precision._"

The Fire Lord made a noise of dawning comprehension. The conversation wasn't making a lot of sense to the blond ANBU standing motionlessly by his Hokage's side, but it suddenly occurred to him that the two men were probably having a conversation that had nothing to do with the weather or sore knees. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes, even though neither of the two men would have seen it.

Instead, he focussed his attention on the woman. She was a young, perhaps not even twenty, and she had dark hair curled up in an elaborate bun. Two bangs fell on either side of her face, and her blue eyes were lowered. She held herself demurely, keeping her hands clasped together and smiling politely.

Naruto was _sure_ that he had seen her before. Then, he spotted the faint trace of a scar underneath her make up, and his eyes widened. Oh. _Oh!_

He had seen her before. It was the Fire Lord's daughter, the princess that Team Sigma had saved from the hands of the cultists- or, rather, the mercenary group _Akatsuki_ had saved. Naruto had dutifully reported everything that had occurred, and passed on the mercenary's demand for more money. He didn't know if the Fire Lord had paid for it, but any organisation that could win the services of Suna's S-rank missing-nin Pakura was not an organisation that he would refuse to pay.

"Ah," the Fire lord made a noise in the back of his throat and waggled his finger. "Now, now, now, I almost forgot…" His tone was rather light and almost childish in a way now that the pleasantaries had concluded. "Hiruzen, this is my lovely daughter, Akiko. Akiko, this is Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Hokage of my Hidden Village."

Akiko bowed her head. "A pleasure to meet you, sir," she murmured softly.

Sarutobi smiled and bowed his head back in response. "Well met, young lady," he greeted. He held out a hand and smiled. "Alas, I have not introduced my own companion. Ferret, take off your mask."

Naruto obeyed, removing the mask from his face and clipping it on his belt. Akiko stared at his face with slightly-widened eyes as the Fire Lord whipped out a fan. He began to wave it at himself, giggling.

"Oh my!" he cried out. "Uzumaki Naruto, how very lovely to see you. Oh, yes, very lovely indeed!"

Naruto managed a pained smile as he bowed his head. Sarutobi discreetly thumped him on the leg with his elbow and Naruto held back a wince, straightening his back and forcing the smile to be more natural.

The Fire Lord unnerved him.

"Ah, Naruto," the Fire Lord exclaimed. He whipped his fan shut and gestured manigimously at his daughter. "This is my lovely daughter, ~Akiko-chan! Do you remember her?"

"Yes, Daimyo-sama," Naruto responded. He turned to her and bowed politely. "You look well, Akiko-sama."

To his surprise, Akiko straightened her shoulders and then gave him a deep bow- far deeper than politeness dictated. She practically prostrated at his feet and rose, her eyes shining. She approached him and Naruto took in a deep breath of her shampoo and perfumes. Then, her hair brushed his skin as she leaned down to give him a kiss on the cheek.

The Fire Lord's fan snapped opening and he began to fan himself once more, his expression hidden.

"Uzumaki Naruto," she breathed quietly. She grabbed both of his hands and clasped them, staring earnestly into his startled eyes. "You saved my life and rescued me from those wicked men. I am forever in your debt, noble shinobi. If I am ever able to help you, please, I beg of you, seek me out."

Naruto's mouth moved wordlessly as he tried to process what was going on. A distant part of his mind screamed at him to accept her words with a smooth comment, but for the most part he couldn't stop focussing on her hands. They were _so warm_.

"It…I…" Naruto stammered, and he could feel his face flush up. He took a deep breath and composed himself as best he could. "It was my pleasure, Akiko-sama. I hope that you stay…er…safe."

Akiko released him and his her mouth with her hands, batting her eyelashes and smiling coyly. Behind her, the Fire Lord giggled, the fan whipping through the air to the point where it was just a blur of colour. Naruto fidgeted on the spot. He didn't trust the Fire Lord's façade one bit, and past the silliness and strange mannerisms there was something calculative gleaming in the man's eyes.

"Akiko, why don't you show your saviour the gardens?" the Fire Lord offered. He snapped his fan shut and giggled again. "Oh yes, that would be marvellous, very marvellous indeed. Go on then, out you go!"

Akiko bowed to her father, then grabbed Naruto's hands and began to pull him from the room. Naruto sought out the Hokage, and Sarutobi gave him the tiniest of nods. The blond ANBU relented and allowed the princess to drag him from the room, already having a sinking feeling in his chest even as two of the Twelve Guardians trailed on after him.

* * *

><p>This left Sarutobi Hiruzen and the Fifteenth Fire Lord alone in the room. The moment the door shut, the Fire Lord dropped his smile. He was silent for a few moments, watching as Sarutobi continued to drink his tea as he fanned himself.<p>

"I find that I dislike these circumstances immensely," the Fire Lord spoke after a few moments. He whipped his fan shut and stared at the Hokage with narrowed eyes. "I am unused in taking such _personal_ risk."

"Unfortunately, it is necessary," Sarutobi sighed. He placed his cup of tea down on the tray before him and stared out the window, his eyes distant. "To lure in such a dangerous opponent, tempting bait must be used."

"Six Guardians departed yesterday with my son," the Fire Lord said. He folded his arms with a wry smile. "Half of the Royal Guard is away. Shinobi presence in the city has declined by 90%, and most of the patrols have been routed in such a way that there will be a ninety-minute gap tonight."

"An obvious trap," Sarutobi murmured. "Nonetheless, they may choose to take the bait. We are tempting targets, you and I…"

"And your little apprentice," the Fire Lord interjected sharply. He gave Sarutobi a measured look. "Don't forget that they have specifically targeted_ him_ for this smear campaign. They hope to curb his influence before it grows even further.

The Hokage scoffed. "As if the boy would know what to do with influence," he muttered with something like a fond smile. He returned the Fire Lord's look. "Speaking of which, I do hope that Akiko has nothing untold planned for Naruto."

The Fire Lord let out a genuine laugh. "Oh, nothing too risqué," he admitted. He flapped the fan open and giggled. "She was most excited when I mentioned that he was coming here. I rather think that she has planned most of it herself, and should your boy be receptive, he may be in for a rather nice time."

"In many ways, Naruto is…" Sarutobi paused, looking for the right words. "Naruto is dumb. He will flee before anything like that can happen."

"Pity," the Fire Lord shrugged, not looking overly concerned. "It would have been an excellent way to bind our two kingdoms together, shinobi and noble. A Hokage with a wife from the Fire Lord's family- truly, a symbol of unity for all to behold."

The Hokage smiled thinly. "A dangerous symbol, indeed. How long, I wonder, would it take before the powers of the Hokage were thinned out and relocated to the capital?"

"Perhaps it's the way of the future," the Fire Lord countered quite sharply.

Sarutobi smiled. "Perhaps," he replied non-committedly. "However, I think that we need to look at a future much closer than that. Let us talk about tonight…"

* * *

><p>Akiko led Naruto down the stairs of the Fire Palace and into the beautiful gardens outside. The fragrance of the various plants and flowers assaulted him, an almost sickly-sweet aroma that made him wrinkle his nose up. The grass beneath his feet was soft and green, and large cherry-blossom trees rose up as high as the walls that surrounded the palace. It was truly a beautiful place- yet there was something about it that made Naruto on edge.<p>

Perhaps it was the groups of nobles that walked through that made him feel uneasy. Young men travelled in packs, talking grandiosely and with exaggerated motions, often strolling past small groups of noble girls. The girls would raise their fans and hide the white make-up on their faces behind their fans, giggling and speaking quickly and in high-pitch voices. This would continue on until the last of the noblemen had sauntered past, and them the fans would be lowered at the women would continue their conversations, often throwing furtive glances at the backs of those who had just walked past.

It was hard to tell exactly who was trying to ensnare who.

When Akiko had walked out, she had placed a graceful hand on his arm and looped her elbow around his. It was slightly awkward- Naruto was by no means tall for his age, and she was at least five years older than he, but he fell into step with ease. The Guardian trailing after them, the same women with her brown-hair in a long braid that went past her waist, didn't appear to be happy, but she served her role in silence, and Akiko ignored her with well-practised ease.

"Akiko-sama!"

The loud cry came from a nearby group of petite, white-faced girls, and they moved towards the princess and the ANBU. It was hard to tell the difference between them- their hairstyles, make-up and even the way they walked made them look extremely similar. Their fans snapped open and they fanned their faces, giggling as they approached. Many of their eyes tracked over Naruto, and the young ANBU tried hard to keep his face stoic.

"My Lady, you look splendid today!" one of the women gushed.

"Oh, I absolutely _adore_ your dress!" Another one cried.

"Your hair, how it gleams, Akiko-sama!" A third complimented.

It was hard to tell whether or not these compliments were meant as an extreme form of flattery or a sarcastic stream of insults. Akiko smiled politely at the group of women surrounding them, and Naruto noticed that even as they gushed at her, many of their eyes regarded him speculatively. Nothing good was going to come from those looks.

"I'm very sorry," Akiko murmured, and her voice cut them all off at once, "but my father has directed me to show this shinobi the gardens, and I must complete my task." She bowed her head. "Pleasant afternoon."

"Pleasant afternoon, Akiko-sama," they chorused

They watched as Akiko led Naruto away, her arm still around his, and Naruto could fee his eyes on the back of his head until they turned a corner. Akiko let out a quiet sigh and regarded him with a small smile.

"I'm sorry, Naruto," she said with a polite smile. "The ladies here can be a little…overbearing… at times."

"So I see, Akiko-sama," Naruto answered dryly.

They had come to rest underneath the branches of a large tree. The branches spread out with their pink blossoms, blocking much of the area off from the view, and with the wall ahead, the tree to the side and a corner of the fortress behind them, it was quite the secluded spot. Naruto could still see the Guardian from the corner of his eye, but she had drawn back, giving the princess her privacy even as her mouth twisted in distaste.

A warm breeze flowed through the garden and ruffled Naruto's hair, bringing with it the scent of the garden. Akiko leaned against the tree, smiling softly, and she stared down at him. Naruto resisted the urge to squirm at her look, which was bright and full of emotion, and instead focussed on the surroundings.

_Wall manned and guarded- four towers in close proximity- twelve guards in each tower- reserve barracks must be nearby – tree foliage dense enough to hide an attacker- additionally, Fire Palace may be scaled- attacker would have a position of strength on a higher ground- recommendation: find higher ground, use explosive tags and visually-obscuring techniques to hide movements, shadow clone distraction and_-

The mental exercise completely left his mind and he let out a little 'oomph' as Akiko suddenly threw herself into his arms and clutched him tight. Her slender arms came to wrap behind his back, and one hand snaked up to rake through his hair. Naruto's face was pushed into her bosom, a very warm and very soft place, and her scent filled his nostrils. He could feel every iota of her presence, a warm, soft and tantalising body next to his own.

He swallowed.

"Thank you," she whispered tenderly. She clutched him tighter. "Thank you so much."

She drew her head back but still kept her eyes around him. They were wet and shining.

"You saved me," she breathed. "I saw what they did to those other people, and you came and saved me. If you hadn't been there…" she trailed off and a single tear slid down her pale cheeks. She gave him a watery smile and lowered her head to his. "Let me thank you, shinobi."

Her hair tickled his face as she lowered, and Naruto could smell her shampoo. Her face was dangerously close- Naruto could feel her breath upon his face. Some part of him, a result of his training and experience as a shinobi, was screaming in alarm. Her hands were out of view, her body was too close- she could _kill him_ if she truly wished too. These instincts urged him to draw back, regain control of the situation and defend himself!

Compared to the foreign and electric-like sensations surging all throughout his body, these instructs were suddenly a small thing. Akiko got closer and closer, and she placed her lips on his and Naruto's eyes reflexively closed. It was a warm, tender feeling, and he surrendered into it. His body was on fire, his heart racing like he fought an S-rank missing-nin, and a jolt of pleasure of the likes that he had never felt shot through him. She drew back after a few moments and Naruto gasped, panting. His eyes were wide, pupils dilated, and he licked his lips, his voice suddenly feeling raw.

"What…" he murmured.

Akiko smiled at him and stroked his face. "Thank you," she whispered.

One hand came up to smooth his hair, sending a tingle through his scalp. The other cupped his cheek and drew his lips in for a second kiss. This one was just as perfect as the first, and she bit down on his lip as she drew back. The sensations flowing through Naruto's body abruptly froze as a voice cleared behind them, and he whirled his head around, his stimulated body switching from desire to danger in an instant.

The female Guardian stood there, her face a careful mask. "Lady Akiko," she murmured. She held out a slip of paper. "You have a message from your father."

Akiko drew back and Naruto saw an uncharacteristic flash of annoyance and impatience on her face. It changed her face, turning her gentle features into something nasty, and although it was gone in an instant, it served as a stark reminder to Naruto on just exactly where he was.

"Thank you," she murmured, and took the note.

It allowed Naruto a chance to back away, and he did so, turning around and trying his best to calm himself and regain control of his emotions. He could hear the rustle of paper behind him and heard Akiko sigh quietly to herself.

"Very well," she said, and her voice sounded a little testy.

Naruto turned around as he heard her footsteps approach. Akiko faltered as she saw his blank face, and a faint crease marred her brow.

"Naruto." She said his name as if it gave her great pleasure to speak it. "Father has insisted that I show you the greenhouse. It's very lovely." She smiled, placing a hand on his arm. "Would you like to come with me?"

"Of course," Naruto answered immediately.

Once again, Akiko took his arm in hers. Naruto fought to maintain control and glanced up at the afternoon sky, noting the position of the sun. He resisted the urge to shake his head as he was led away from the lovely cherry-blossom tree, pulled along by a beautiful- and most decidedly dangerous- princess.

It was going to be a long afternoon.

* * *

><p>It truly had been a long afternoon, but Naruto had ensured that Akiko was never alone with him again. Every time it looked as if she was going to pull him away, he would catch the eye of one of the surrounding nobles and somebody would inevitably jump at the chance to talk to him.<p>

He was quite famous around here, apparently.

"You must have been so brave," a middle-aged woman gushed. Her husband, a burly man with a round stomach, nodded sombrely as his wife placed a delicate hand on Naruto's shoulder. "To fight against an entire army- and you _won!_ Just so brave!"

"I had help," Naruto responded politely, idly noting that Akiko flashed a look at the hand on his arm that would have killed if it had any more power behind it. "My whole team was there. I couldn't have done it without them."

Not that they wanted the praise, or the reputation, but Naruto had quickly deduced that it was a good way of deflecting a lot of the unwanted attention that he was at the end of.

His 'fame' wasn't entirely positive. A group of young noble men had been eying him for a good twenty minutes before they approached. There were four of them, led by an athletic teen probably around eighteen with spiky-black hair, blue eyes and a faint look of distaste on his face.

"Akiko-sama," he drawled, but his eyes never left Naruto. Compared to the noble, Naruto was tiny, and certainly didn't look too intimidating. "I see you have bought a guest."

"Indeed I have." Akiko smiled and gestured towards the blond ANBU. "This is Uzumaki Naruto, the shinobi who single-handedly defeated the Sky Country Invasion Force, and the one who saved my life. Naruto, this is Tadeshi."

"I see." The teen's mouth worked as if he was chewing something particularly unpleasant.

He eyed Naruto up and down, and the Jinchuuriki realised that he probably didn't look like much. His armour wasn't new, and it had its fair share of scuffs and small dents. His figure was lithe, not muscular- Naruto was built for speed, not physical power- and without the mask covering his face, his features were young and unassuming.

"So you're strong then," Tadeshi mused. He smiled, closing his eyes and shaking his head. "Come on, then. Show me the strength of a shinobi." He stepped forward, brandishing his arms. "Strike me, so that I may feel your power."

Naruto twitched in surprise, and he gave Akiko a quick glance. The young woman had her lips pressed together but said nothing. Instead, she had turned her head and had apparently become very interested in a small water feature on the other end of the garden. Naruto turned his head, eying the other nobles, who looked interested. Many of them were smirking, others look surprised. The Guardian's face was blank, but there was an air about her that said she disapproved.

"You want me to hit you?" Naruto asked in disbelief.

"Of course," Tadeshi said with a smile. "How else could I test your strength?"

Naruto looked at his hand, and then at the boy. He had absolutely no idea what was going on. Oh, he could get the general gist- the boy was trying to get him in trouble, or humiliate him in some manner. Being struck, however, wasn't going to end well for Tadeshi, no matter what consequences followed. Damn it, his head hurt. Interacting with nobles was a good lesson for looking underneath the underneath, but there were enemy shinobi that Naruto had fought that weren't as sly and cunning as some of these men and women.

"I probably shouldn't," Naruto answered at last, trying to sound apologetic.

Tadeshi's smile grew even wider and a flash of victory went through his eyes. He lowered his arms. "Of course," he agreed with a smirk. "After all," he brushed his forehead with his hand in a well-practised movement of dismissal, "It wouldn't be your place."

Naruto took that in.

"Although," he said half a beat later, snapping his fingers. "You just did give me permission. Actually, I'm prtty sure everybody here would say that you literally asked for it." Naruto nodded, smiling brightly. "Okay, I'll hit you."

A fleeting look of panic flashed over Tadeshi's face- the noble had not expected him as a shinobi to take him up on the challenge. Naruto rubbed his hands together, pretending to be oblivious as Tadeshi shot a look at the boys surrounding him.

"Okay, well, you're going to want to take a step to the left and lean back," Naruto told the noble. "If I hit you and you fall where you are, the back of your head will crack against that rock and you'll probably die. If you lean back, you'll roll with the hit and defuse a lot of the damage- but it will still hurt.

Tadeshi's face whitened.

"Now, do I use a closed fist or an open palm?" Naruto mused out loud. He looked at his hand, as did the other nobles, and clenched his fist. "If I use this, I'm going to have to be careful. There's around eleven ways I can hit you in the head to kill you, and I obviously don't want to do that. I can't aim for your nose, because I might break it and send shards of bone through your brain. A temple hit would knock you out, but it's often a lethal blow if aimed just right. If I hook your jaw, I just might break your neck, and I need to stay away from your throat. One good jab to that adam's apple and you'll choke and die."

He opened his palm.

"It's a lot harder to kill somebody with an open hand, but still doable. If I hit you in the ear hard enough, I can definitely destabilise you and depending on how you fell…" He trailed off and scratched the back of his head with his other hand. "A cheek slap might work, but I'd need to pull the hit, or I could snap your jawbone and send pieces of it cutting into your throat. If I change the angle to underneath the jaw, I might also snap your neck. I also want to stay away from your eyes- ruptured eyeballs hurt _a lot_."

He eyed the suddenly stone-faced, wide-eyed Tadeshi and smiled obliviously.

"Are you sure about this?" Naruto asked in a friendly tone. "I still don't think it's appropriate. Do you?"

"N-No," Tadeshi stammered. He cleared his throat, taking a deep breath and smiling coolly. "No, I believe that you're right. Pleasant afternoon, shinobi."

"Pleasant afternoon," Naruto replied.

He turned to Akiko as Tadeshi and his gang left with only the tiniest of smug smiles. Akiko had hidden her face behind her fan, but he could see her upturned lips and he suddenly felt glad that he had made her smile- before he mentally kicked himself to remain on guard.

The afternoon passed slowly, but pass it did, and Naruto and Akiko returned to the Fire Palace. There was usually a feast offered to arriving dignitaries, but the Hokage and the Fire Lord had chosen to eat together in a small, private room on the bottom floor. Akiko had joined them, and Naruto stood guard outside, chewing on a ration bar as he and the Four Guardians pretended not to be eying each other down.

The sun had set, the full moon had risen and night had come to the city.

That was when the enemy struck.

It started with a series of distant booms and tiny shudders in the windows. The Guardians and Naruto straightened, and Naruto reached for his mask. He placed it on his face and took a deep breath, his heart beginning to beat and his chakra stirring from within his body. Those had been explosions.

There was another series of booms, this time much closer, and Naruto and the Guardians sprang into action. The door to the private room slammed open as the five shinobi entered, four of them baring crimson sashes and one wearing the mask of an ANBU operative. The Fire Lord, the Third Hokage and the Princess sat around a medium-sized rectangular table, platters of steaming food lying in the middle. The crystal glasswear and shining silver cutlery rattled as another explosion went off, this one much, much closer.

"My Lord, something seems to be occurring in the city," the first Guardian spoke, a tall, slender blonde man with seven shot swords on his belt. He had bowed his head, his eyes averted. "We must ensure your safety. Please, come with us."

The Fire Lord dabbed at his mouth with a napkin and stood. "Has the bunker been cleared?"

"It has, Daimyo-sama," the Guardian answered. "Just this morning."

"Excellent." the Fire Lord smiled. It wasn't a friendly smile. "Take us to the vault."

The Guardian looked puzzled. "Sire, the bunker is the most-"

"I said," the Fire Lord interrupted, his eyes pinning the Guardian where he knelt. "Take us to the vault. Now."

"Ah, yes, my lord," the Guardian murmured apologetically.

He rose, and made a series of hand-signals to the other Guardians and they fanned out around the Fire Lord and Akiko. Sarutobi also rose, a pipe in his hand, looking completely unconcerned, and Naruto moved to stand on his right, ever-alert. They left the room, and Naruto could hear the Fire Lord giving orders to one of the Guardians, instructing them to retrieve all the names presented on a scroll. Some were to come with them, others to the bunker, and others to various other locations.

The first sound of fighting and panic began to fill the air. There were screams and shouts, hollers and challenges as men fought against something with clashing steel. There was a flicker of light around the corridor, a blue flash and a deafening boom that sounded a lot like thunder. Naruto held back and he stood at that corner of the hallway, alert and waiting to see if they were being followed. The sound of fighting drifted away, and it didn't look like they were being pursued, so Naruto quickly left and caught up with the party.

They had been joined by a gaggle of nobles, many of them looking worried. Some of them had members of the Royal Guard with them, large men wearing chest armour and wielding long swords. They looked tough and grizzled, but would be no match for a shinobi.

"Open the vault," The Fire Lord ordered. There was no trace of his persona or silliness- his face was hard, and the faces of the Guardians around him grim.

Two Guardians pulled out golden keys and entered them into cracks in the wood of the hallway. There was a rumbling noise and the wooden panels slid away, revealing a set of stairs leading into the darkness. Torches bolted on the walls flickered on and the Fire Lord nodded in satisfaction.

"Lords and Ladies, hear my words," he called out over the rabble, and the other nobles fell silent. "We shall descend to the vault and secure our safety. This matter will be resolved shortly. The Third Hokage, the most powerful shinobi in the Land of Fire, will come with us to guard us. I'm sure-" He paused, his eyes raking over the crowd, and genuine surprise crossed his face.

"Guardians! Where is my daughter?" He demanded.

The blond Guardian froze. "My Lord, Shizu took her down towards the Gardens. She indicated that you had ordered Akiko-sama to retrieve something."

"I ordered no such thing!" the Fire Lord shouted furiously, his voice rising with fury.

His face twisted up in fury and he viciously backhanded the Guardian on the cheek. The blond man's face jerked back, but he seemed unharmed. Nonetheless, the emotional pain twisting his face was enough, and he bowed, practically touching the floor with his face.

"Find. My. Daughter!" the Fire Lord roared.

"Wait!" Sarutobi interjected. The Fire Lord whirled upon him, but the Hokage ignored the furious noble. He gave Naruto a serious look. "Naruto. Find the princess and bring her here. Two Guardians will wait at the entrance for your arrival. Do it now, and do it quickly!"

"Yes, Hokage-sama!" Naruto responded.

He darted away, his movements a blur, leaving the angry Fire Lord to deal with the patient Hokage. The hallways and corridors seemed deserted, but as he passed one of the rooms he saw several of the servants and maids hiding in the corner, their features terrified. He passed them without any more though, heading to the gardens, his face grim.

As he left the confines of the castle and darted into the spacious gardens, he saw great plumes of smoke rising into the air. A fiery glow had lit up the night sky, and beyond the walls he could see some of the taller buildings caught alight. He scanned the gardens, but they were shrouded in darkness and impossible to see.

Naruto made a hand-seal and prepared to summon shadow clones- but then abruptly stopped, his eyes widening.

A flash of purple light had just engulfed the night sky, and from the four compass directions came a stream of purple light that rose high up into the air. It solidified, sliding around in a perfect dome all around the city. It solidified and completed itself with a loud gong, the barrier completed. Naruto gritted his teeth at it, the dark-purple haze making it impossible to see through.

Whatever reinforcements that Sarutobi had called for, they had better be able to crack that barrier, because it looked like they were all trapped inside the city.

A flash of movement caught his eyes, and he jerked his head to the left. From the light coming off the dark-purple, murky barrier, Naruto could make out two figures in the distance. He made for them, sprinting as fast as he could and closing the distance quickly.

The Guardian, Shizu, was the slender woman with her brown-hair in the long braid. She held Akiko by the arm and was practically dragging her. The princess seemed to be protesting something, but she allowed herself to be dragged, looking confused and worried. Shizu seemed to have sensed Naruto coming and she whirled around as the blond, masked ANBU dropped to the ground no less than five metres away from her.

"What are you doing?" Shizu demanded. She sounded cross. "All essential personnel are to be…"

"In the Vault," Naruto finished tightly. "As should Akiko-sama."

"I told you," Akiko muttered petulantly, wincing as Shizu's grip on her arm tightened.

"I have orders from the Fire Lord to escort Akiko-sama out of the city and into the safety of the nearest military outpost," Shizu snapped. She shooed Naruto away with her hand. "Go away, ANBU. This is my mission."

"And I have orders from the Fire Lord to escort Akiko-sama to the Vault," Naruto snapped. He clenched his fists, his eyes narrowed behind his mask. It helped him see a little better in the night-time, and he could see Shizu's face abruptly slacken, her façade no longer needed. "Let her go."

Shizu was tense, her body poised in a way for sudden movement. Then, she let out a loud giggle and sighed.

"Ah, well, I'm sort of glad that I was found out," she murmured.

She reached up and tugged at her cheek- and kept tugging and tugging, her sharp nails tearing into flesh. Akiko shrieked as the Guardian tore off her face, pulling away at the skin and holding it in her hand. Underneath where her face had been was… another face? The woman was beautiful, with pale, alabaster skin, glimmering green eyes and a small dimple on her lower left cheek.

"What a disgusting technique," she drawled, her voice thick and sensuous. "I shuddered wearing that ugly face."

She was about to say more, but Naruto abruptly lunged at her, a kunai glinting in his hand. She blinked, and her braid whipped up of its own accord. The hair bulged around the knot, which abruptly snapped, the hair fanning out in a wide arc, and it elongated, shooting at Naruto in the form of slender, sharpened spears. Naruto took three of them to the chest and his charge halted. He was pushed back by the power of the blow, away from the false Guardian and the screaming princess.

Then he exploded in a puff of smoke, and the false guardian grunted as Naruto slammed into her from behind. Her grasp on Akiko weakened as Naruto slammed her away from the noble, and three shadow clones immediately grabbed the pale-faced woman and disappeared in an instant.

"You little bastard!" the woman shrieked, righting herself. She glanced at her hair, which shimmered and swayed around her like a living thing. "You got mud in my hair!"

"I'm about to get your blood in it," Naruto snapped.

They charged.


	40. The Coup: Part II

**Chapter Forty**

**The Coup II**

The woman's hands blurred as she formed a series of hand-seals. Naruto did the same, withdrawing a kunai and hurling it at her with great force. His chakra flared, and two sets of hands slammed into a single hand seal.

_Kunai Shadow Clone Technique!_

One kunai became a thousand and they rocketed forward with enough power to puncture stone. The beautiful woman shouted something, and the earth around her rose up like it was made of water, grass and flowers ripping up as a spinning cyclone of mud surrounded her. The kunai into it and the spiralling currents of the twisting, fluid earth deflected them all away. Most of them disappeared in little puffs of smoke, but Naruto had to jerk his head back as the original blade ricocheted back at him, shooting past his ear and into the darkness.

An instant later, he jumped back as the earth beneath his feet shuddered, and moments later a series of sharp, rocky spears as tall as he was erupted from the ground where he'd been standing. Naruto's hands hadn't been idle, however, and he channelled chakra to his mouth. The _tenketsu_ in his throat burned as he moulded fire-elemental chakra, reared his head back, and then spat out a series of blazing streaks of fire.

The woman's face appeared from amidst the spiralling mud that surrounded her and she pointed at Naruto in a grandiose manner. Little goblets of the watery-earth paused in the air around her, and then shot at him with great force. She aimed them with precision, and each streak of fire that Naruto had shot at her was snuffed out by her own projectile attack- and the result of that left a series of hardened, deadly rocks rocketing for Naruto's head.

_Wind Release: Great Wind Breakthrough!_

Naruto swept his arms out and a great gust of wind flew forward, throwing the shooting, fiery rocks back. They flared as the wind fuelled the embers within them, and landed all around the garden. Some of them rolled into bushes and a small, flickering flame began to emerge from them. Naruto lowered his hands, looking at the woman intently as the mud fell down all around. It had left her untouched and pristine, and she smiled at him. She was _very_ beautiful.

_Capable long-range ninjutsu- A-rank earth elemental techniques – water manipulation possible due to nature of earth – long-distance fighter – need information - clarify close-combat capabilities _

Naruto made a single hand-seal and four shadow clones burst out in front of him. He jumped back, landing on a crouch on one of the branches of a nearby tree, while the shadow clones darted forward, kunai in hand. Two went to the left, and two to the right, one clone in each pair jumping up and one going in low. The woman smirked and her hair wriggled and squirmed. It shot out in a sweeping arc, capturing the two clones jumping at her and swatting them away like it was a club, then wrapping itself into braids to become sharp spears, which pierced the clones coming in from below.

The real Naruto took note of everything.

_Effective close-combat defensive technique – primary goal- match her ninjutsu to gauge chakra levels – secondary goal- limit close-combat effectiveness by destroying hair_

He moved into action, jumping out of the tree an instant later before a series of explosions went off at its base. He landed on the ground, made several shadow clones and flared his chakra. His unique method of folding chakra, known and used only by the Third Hokage and himself, strained his chakra-circulatory network. He gathered his chakra before his tenketsu, folded it in on itself once, then twice, then four times, until it was dense, and his body _burned_.

The air around him shimmered. A hazy miasma of blue had surrounded him, some of the excess chakra leaking from his tenketsu, and the small rocks, dirty and grass around him shook. As the tree behind him fell to the ground with a loud crash and more smoke began to rise through the air, Naruto began his assault.

Three shadow clones went to the left, jumping onto the branches of a cherry-blossom tree. Four shadow clones went to the right, running along the garden bed. Two shadow clones advanced on her with a head-on attack. The original Naruto stayed at the back, his hands a blur as he shot through thirty-two hand-seals in a matter of seconds.

_Earth Release: Earth Flow River!_

_Fire Release: Blazing River!_

_Wind Release: Great Wind Breakthrough!_

_Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!_

The ninjutsu barrage from Naruto caused more damage to the beautiful gardens in the first few seconds than his opponent had done altogether. The earth before him began to liquefy and it surged towards the enemy with great force. Fire elemental chakra heated it up, causing it to become thick, bubbling, black tar, moving with no less speed for it, and steam rose from it as it burned through the earth. A great gust of wind show out of Naruto's hands as he thrust one palm out, fuelling the fiery river and propelling it even further, while his other hand threw a shuriken into the air in a lazy arc- and the weapon glowed with a green light before it became a hundred, and they all pelted down to the earth with great force.

The two clones making the head-on assault jumped up as the fiery river of tar raged forward beneath them, and they the momentum of their jump brought them upon their enemy. Kunai glinted as they lunged- but the hair rose up and slashed them to puffs of smoke. At the same time, the woman screamed something as she held up her hand, and the raging hurricane of mud surrounded her, pushing against the raging torrent of tar. Water hissed and spluttered as mud and tar met, and great gouts of steam rose into the air- but the defence held.

Then the shuriken bombarded the ground- not the enemy, whose hair had reflexively come up to shield herself, but the ground behind her. The lazy arc had caused the shuriken to clone right at the apex, and it was less of a wall of steel and more of a bombardment, a torrential rain of shuriken that slammed into the ground- blocking off a retreat.

Two shadow clones launched at her from the left, kunai glinting. Her hair lashed out, slicing them up, and then it raced around to her right as four clones attacked. Three used hand-to-hand- she dispelled one with a kick, dodged a jab and used her free hand to slam her palm into the clone's throat, while the hair cut the other one to ribbons. The fourth clone, however, managed to bring his hands upon the hurricane of mud. Something sparkled, and a lightning technique ripped through the earth technique like a blade through unarmoured flesh.

The mud technique began to collapse, losing as the blazing river of tar began to push it back. Nearby grass and plants caught alight as the tar began to advance and the woman took a step back- but then had to stop as the shuriken rained down behind her in a steady three-second bombardment of sharpened metal. Her face was tightly-pinched as she brought both hands up, reinforcing the mud technique and holding her ground.

That was when the _third_ clone on the left attacked. It darted forward, a glowing, whining sphere of terrible blue light whirling in its palm, and it thrust the _rasengan _forward. The woman's hair darted out in a panicked defence, but the powerful A-rank technique slammed against it. Sparks flew in the air, as if the hair was made from metal, but it was quickly ground down. With a terrible scream, something eerie and unholy, the luscious locks severed and burst apart in and puff of hair strands.

The woman arched her back and screamed in absolute agony. Her concentration wavered and her defensive earth technique fell apart. She staggered away to the right, trying desperately to get away from the flowing river of tar, but it enveloped her, sticking to her like glue. She screamed again, and something sizzled and spluttered. Flesh blackened, blood boiled and the woman beautiful green eyes stared at Naruto in one last haunted look of horror before her very body caught alight and she disappeared underneath the black, oozing tar.

Seven seconds after Naruto had finished his hand-seals, the fight was over.

Naruto lowered his hands, breathing harshly, his jaw set. His _tenketsu _still burned, but it was a good pain- one that he was familiar one, and one that he embraced. He strode over to where the twisted, burnt remains of the enemy kunoichi had fallen. The blazing river of tar had pushed her to the other end of the garden, closer to the main gates of the Fire Palace, and the ground was still hot. Nevertheless, the chakra behind the attack had faded and it was dissipating fairly quickly, leaving behind a black smudge all over the lawns.

He hovered over the woman's body- or what was left to it. Her hair was gone, her skin black, twisted and often burned through to the bone. Her eye sockets were empty and part of her jawbone leered up at him. The smell was horrendous, and Naruto held his breath- clinically observing his the remains.

She was undoubtedly dead, but Naruto had fought against so many opponents who could regenerate or heal or shrug off attacks like those that the fact that the woman had fallen so 'easily' surprised him.

He shook his head and backed away, turning around to look at the Fire Palace. The eternal flame continued to blaze at the top of the castle, but it grew dimmer as the smoke from the rest of the city began to drift that way, partially obscuring it. Smoke continued to rise from the city, and the sound of steel clashing and panicked shouts was getting closer and closer.

Naruto wanted to go and help- but his orders had been to secure Akiko-sama. He began to run towards the entrance of the Fire Palace, returning to the Third Hokage to await further orders, when a flash of insight struck him and he stopped. The shadow clones had returned to the vault and Akiko was safe. She had been enveloped in a hug by a surprisingly-worried Fire Lord, whose mask had dropped for a single-second to see the raw worry that the father had been feeling over the fate of his daughter.

Sarutobi had nodded approvingly at him, and passed on a message to him.

_Hold the perimeter and deny the enemy access to the Fire Palace. Assist local forces when possible. Keep them out._

Naruto smiled grimly and clenched his fist. Then, he turned and sprinted to the nearest source of conflict. The sound of fighting grew louder and louder as Naruto shot past the gardens, one large section still cratered, shredded and burning. He ignored it, focussing his vision on the wall ahead. There was a gate that allowed visitors access, and it was under attack. One of the towers was alight; the other had red and white armoured men shooting at something with bows and crossbows. A wall of men faced the city, unsteady on their feet and slowly retreating.

Naruto darted up to them, his footsteps silent, and he jumped over them, landing in a crouch. His eyes scanned the city ahead, seeing dark figures walking towards them. Seeing no immediate threat, he turned his head to find the nearest officer.

It was a young man- the noble teenager, Tadeshi. His black hair was full of mud and grime, and he had a cut on his cheek. Nonetheless, the noble looked healthy, but his pale face and panicked eyes spoke volumes about his mental stability. When Naruto had landed, he had jumped and squeaked- and so had half of the soldiers. There was about thirty of them, most of them wielding pikes.

"Tadeshi," Naruto spoke from behind his mask, halting the man mid-speech as he began to gesture at Naruto. "We met earlier today. You asked me to hit you."

Tadeshi paused, a shaking hand on a thin sabre by his side. Recognition dawned in his eyes and he let out a shuddering breath.

"A shinobi," he breathed with relief. "Thank heaven."

Naruto's eyebrows rose from underneath his mask. Tadeshi hadn't been so appreciative of the shinobi earlier in the day, and a small part of him wanted to remind the pompous noble of it. He pushed that away- now was not the time to be a smart arse.

"What's the situation?" Naruto asked.

Tadeshi shuddered, his eyes dim, and he pointed out at the city with a shaking hand. "The enemy advances," he said quietly. He shook his head. "It's wrong. It's completely wrong. _Unnatural_."

"What is?" Naruto asked with a frown.

"They come, milord!" one of the archers in the tower shouted.

There was a whoosh and arrows went zipping in the air, striking at the approaching figures. The city was dark, but the burning tower provided plenty of light, and Naruto turned to get a good look at the enemy.

It was a man, dressed in muddied, brown clothing. All of them were, the men, some with long hair that must have been women, even some smaller figures that must have been children. They lurched forward, rocking and stumbling as if they were unsteady on their feet. Their approach was completely unthreatening, but as they got closer to the light, Naruto could see just why Tadeshi and the Royal Guard were so spooked.

None of the figures had eyes in their sockets. Their skin was made up of patches of grey. Their clothes were tattered rags. They had every appearance of being corpses, tightened skin around the bone, shrivelled features and a smell that Naruto could pick up even from fifty metres away.

From all appearances, the Fire Palace was being assaulted by the walking dead.

"Hold the line!" Tadeshi yelled. The Royal Guard formed ranks by the gate, inadvertently- or maybe not- leaving Naruto at the front, facing the undead alone. "Hold the line! These abominations will not pass!"

His voice was shaking, but he held firm, and Naruto felt a sudden respect for the youth. Then, a flicker of movement caught his attention and he whipped his head around. From the shadows on the left came four of the undead, approaching them with an unseemly yet surprisingly fast gait. They silently launched themselves at Naruto, and the shinobi crossed his arms to block an overhead blow. It rattled on his armguards as the undead reared back to strike at him again, but Naruto was too quick and he lashed out with his foot.

The undead's knee simply collapsed under the force of the blow- a blow that had not been particular powerful, and the rotting corpse fell to the ground. Naruto sidestepped his bringing his hand back with a fistful of shuriken and then launching them at the second of the undead, peppering its face. The force of the shuriken sent the undead stumbling to the ground, while Naruto whirled around, his other hand by his lips. He blew a steady stream of flame at the third undead, and it caught alight, falling to the ground and dead flesh and tattered clothes burned with a blue fire.

The fourth caught a glowing _rasengan_ in the chest as Naruto ducked underneath a swipe of its rotting arm and thrust his outstretched palm forward, the _rasengan_ forming in an instant. The undead's chest caved in and the power of the technique blew it back. It tumbled and rolled along the ground, striking one of the approaching, lumbering corpses and slamming it into the ground.

Naruto withdrew back closer to the lines of Royal Guard, ignoring the wide-eyed look that Tadeshi gave him.

"They're not so tough," he remarked quietly. He formed some hand-seals. "A few techniques should clear them right up."

"No, you don't understand!" Tadeshi said with a half-moan of despair. "They _don't die!_"

He gestured to the four undead that Naruto had just put down, and the young, blond ANBU could see that they were staggering to their feet. Blackened flesh on one of them was slowly replaced with wrinkled, grey rotting flesh. The caved-in knee from the undead Naruto had kicked popped back out, while a fistful of shuriken clattered to the ground. They lurched to their feet, their hollow eye-sockets somehow looking at them, and Tadeshi groaned.

"What technique is _this_?" Naruto wondered out loud in fascinated horror.

He shook his head, took a deep breath and focussed. After a moment, he smiled grimly underneath his mask. His chakra flared, he folded it thrice and his _tenketsu_ burst with excess. A miasma of hazy blue light surrounded him. The armour of the Royal Guards behind him rattled, somebody yelled something, but Naruto ignored it as he flipped through a series of hand-seals.

_Earth Release: Rising Stone Spears!_

_Earth Release: Rising Stone Spears!_

_Earth Release: Rising Stone Spears!_

The same technique, multiplied three times with all of the power that Naruto could channel, made the ground rumble and groan in protest. The pavers and cobbled stones creaked and cracked. One of the Royal Guards fell to the ground in a ringing clang of metal on rock. Naruto knelt down, slammed his palms on the ground and focussed.

All over the streets around them, the ground shuddered and cracked. Geysers of debris and dirt exploded out from the ground, displaced as large spikes of gleaming black rock shot out from the ground. They were twice as tall as Naruto, and each one slammed into the chest of one of the approaching undead. The walking corpses didn't make a sound as spikes slammed into their chests, lifting them from the ground and suspending them there. A dozen were pierced, and then another dozen and another, until the ground before them was a forest of sharpened stone stalagmites, each spear holding an undead off of the ground.

Naruto stood up from the ground, surveying his work. He nodded after a few moments.

"That'll do it," he told Tadeshi, who was starting at the undead with his mouth agape. His eyes shifted to him and he almost squeaked as Naruto came closer. "They're tough, but they're not strong. They won't be able to get themselves down from there."

He gestured at their pikes.

"If more come, you use these to pin them somewhere. Hopefully, they won't be able to get up afterwards."

"I… I see." Tadeshi closed his eyes, and looked distinctively relieved. Now that he had a strategy and a plan, the colour began to return to his cheeks, and he regarded Naruto with a solemn look. "Well met, Uzumaki Naruto. If you hadn't been here, I shudder to think what might have happened."

"It's fine," Naruto brushed off the compliment, although that same small part of him felt quite pleased. "Now, what can you tell me about the other defensive posit-"

His voice trailed off. Tadeshi gasped, clutching at his throat as if he couldn't breathe. The Royal Guard around them went silent in terror, and a horrible, ominous chakra settled down upon them. Naruto turned his head back to the forest of stone spears, his fists clenched tightly and his mouth agape. He was truly stunned.

"What?" he whispered. "What is this?"

A red glow burned amidst the forest of stone spears. A dangerous, ominous feeling hovered around it, as of hated incarnate. The sensation was horribly alien and devastating to the senses, a terrible, dense aura of potent chakra and raging anger. The glow grew bright and brighter in the darkness, and Naruto could only watch it rocket towards them in stunned surprise.

It was a horrible power- but not unknown to him.

From the vault, where Sarutobi stood guard over the most important nobles in the Land of Fire, the Third Hokage's eyes widened and he stared up at the roof in surprise and horror.

"That's impossible!" he murmured. "That's completely and utterly impossible!"

It was a power that was sealed away.

It was a power that could not be there.

It was the power of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox.

And from the darkness, a young boy appeared. He was no older than ten, his lips were pulled back and his canines were exposed. His clothes were in tatters, streaked with blood and soot and other stains. His eyes were maddened and insane, and he was surrounded by a hazy cloak of crimson chakra. A single, lone tail swung behind him and two protrusions similar to ears bubbled on the top of his head. The very air around him rippled under the force of the chakra, and a low, deep and beastly growl purred from his throat.

A Jinchuuriki.

"What the hell…?" Naruto uttered.

The boy spotted them, reared back his head and _roared_. It was not the sound that should have come from any human being, let alone a small boy like that, and it rattled the air. The wind howled, carrying the power of the bestial roar with it, knocking down some of the men of the Royal Guard. Tadeshi was screaming as he held his hands over his ears, unheard over the roar, and even Naruto staggered back, his eyes wide and his composure lost.

What the hell was going on!?

The boy crouched on all fours and leapt at them. He jumped on the closest person, a member of the Royal Guard, and the two went tumbling to the ground. The boy perched on the man's armour, the bubbling chakra melting away the metal and making the panicked man scream in pain. A crimson-shrouded hand rose and lashed out, splitting the man's face open in a spray of blood and a last, single gurgling scream.

The boy howled in joy and jumped at another guard, blood dripping and sizzling on his hand. The guard fumbled with his pike and stabbed at the vicious boy- but metal and wood splintered and shattered, and the guard went down under a pile of limbs, crimson light and vicious howls of fury. A sword flashed through the air as Tadeshi leapt forward, slicing at the boy, but the blade clashed against the chakra shroud in a shower of sparks and the metal snapped and bent. The boy looked up and Tadeshi scrambled backwards, but the vicious _Jinchuuriki_ was on him, raising his hand again as the tail behind him speared the fallen guard in the chest-

- and then Naruto was there, punting the boy in the face with all of his strength. Something snapped and cracked, Naruto's closed fist breaking bones and shattering teeth, and the boy reared back, screaming in agony. A metallic voice howled alongside him, but it was interrupted as Naruto gave it a vicious kick in the knee- and then the blond ANBU jerked back, doubling over in agony.

His stomach was _burning_.

Naruto looked up, his sharpened teeth biting into his lip. The boy, regaining his composure, screamed as he launched himself at the ANBU, his elongated nails ready to rake through him- and he pushed himself straight upon Naruto's outstretched hand. The whirring _rasengan_ caught the boy in the chest, and the chakra shroud let out a high-pitched shriek as it tried to repel the technique. It was too powerful, however, and the boy was propelled backwards into the wall, the chakra shroud around him scattered and broken.

It began to reform, but with the boy further away, Naruto's stomach had stopped burning in agony. He straightened up, ignoring the currents of pain still shooting through his abdomen, and made three hand-seals.

_Earth Release: Rising Stone Spears!_

Before the chakra shroud could reform, three sharp spears of stone burst from the ground and struck at the boy leaning against the cratered wall. They pierced him in the groin, the heart and the throat, slamming him against the wall and holding him there. The child choked, the crimson power wavering, and the miasma of potent, demonic chakra around him broke and disappeared. The boy gurgled and then went limp.

Naruto was panting, his hand still in a seal. His mind was a blur, even as the Royal Guard ran and scattered, their morale and resolve broken.

What was going on?

Another howl drew his attention and he jerked his head back to the front. More crimson lights were appearing at the edge of the spears of rock he had created- first one, then three, and then six. More children appeared, anywhere between the ages of five and ten. All were surrounded by glowing red chakra shrouds, each had a single swaying tail and each had nothing but madness in their eyes.

Naruto was alone at the gate.

The Royal Guard had gone, Tadeshi with them, but they would have been useless in this fight.

The Jinchuuriki howled and ran towards him on all fours. Naruto summersaulted backwards, his feet landing on the high walls and sticking there, and he made a series of hand-seals.

_Water Release: Exploding Water Colliding Wave!_

Water gushed from his throat, filling his lungs and his stomach, and Naruto frantically pushed the eruption of water out from his mouth. It exploded forward, slamming into the ground and cracking the stone as hundreds of megalitres of water burst forward in a powerful wave of unstoppable force. The stone spears pinning the undead crumbled and were washed away, and many of the glowing crimson attackers were also driven underwater, bashed and battered on the ground and disappearing underneath the waves.

Several were not.

The first launched herself at him, hair wild around her and screaming incoherently. Naruto back-pedalled and flipped himself over the edge of the wall to stand on top of it as the seven year old girl smashed into the stone wall where he had been standing and shattered it to pieces. A second blur of crimson light launched itself at it from the water, and Naruto ducked a vicious swipe that tore the air apart above his head. His hand glowed and he plunged a _rasengan _into the jinchuuriki's chest, hurtling the nine year old dark-skinned boy off the edge of the wall.

_Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!_

Naruto spat out a huge sphere of swirling flames at third attacker and they were enveloped. Then, from the middle of the flames came a terrible roar and the fire broke apart, revealing the shrouded Jinchuuriki alive and unharmed. He continued his charge and Naruto had to jump off of the wall and back into the gardens surrounding the Fire Palace. He landed on two feet, gestured at the wall with two fingers.

_Detonate!_

Explosive tags detonated with a powerful concussive force. Large pieces of stone broke apart underneath the force of the blast and spread outwards. The three Jinchuuriki disappeared under great gouts of fire and smoke, and Naruto briefly saw one clipped by a piece of flying debris and sent hurtling into a large tree on the outer edge of the garden. His mind was calm and collected, and he analysed everything he possibly could – even as the Jinchuuriki began to rise.

_Blunt force trauma is ineffective – piercing attacks have successfully penetrated chakra shroud – lethal techniques once shroud has been disrupted have been proven effective – strategy – pierce shrouds, eliminate enemy before it manifests _

He clapped his hands together.

_Water Release: Water Fang Bullet!_

The water from his first technique had not only gone forward, and a large stream of it ran through the gardens towards the entrance of the Fire Palace. Naruto used it to create his next technique, and three large spiralling drills of water burst out from the newly-created stream and slammed in the chest of the _fourth_ Jinchuuriki, who had just leapt over the wall and lunged at him. The water hissed and spluttered, steam rising from where it met with the chakra shroud, but the crimson miasma surrounding the young boy wavered for an instant.

_Water Release: Water Bullet!_

Naruto spat out a small streak of high-pressurised water, and it took the boy in the chest. His chest caved in, ribs snapping and organs bursting, and the boy let out a single scream before his chakra shroud faded and he disappeared into the foliage under the power of the technique.

Naruto turned to the next charging, maddened child, and his _rasengan _tore through the girl's shroud and face, grinding through chakra and bone and killing her instantly. A third died as Naruto used the same _rasengan_ to slam it into her stomach, then grabbed a fistful of her hair and viciously pulled it back. He slammed a kunai into her throat, ripped it open, slapped four exploding tags on her face and then threw her to the side, right into the path of another one.

The tags detonated, knocking the other Jinchuuriki off course and sending him rolling through the dirt. This one was a barely past his toddler years, but his eyes were as mad as the others, and Naruto slammed a _rasengan _into its chest and brought his foot down on its neck. His heart was stone, his face behind his mask blank and his eyes hard.

The Jinchuuriki came and Naruto defeated them, one by one.

They had a strong, terrifying presence- but they were in essence just children. They were all savagery and instinct, but they were sloppy and unskilled. Although there ended up being over a dozen of them, none of them fought as a team. Indeed, three of them even got into a fight with each other as they jumped upon a shadow clone, which once popped left nothing for the insane Jinchuuriki to take their rage out on.

Five minutes after they had appeared, there were fourteen broken, little bodies lying around the gardens, and a single bloodied-masked ANBU operative standing in the middle of them. Naruto was breathing deeply, and his stomach still burned. He pushed it all away, his senses hypersensitive, and could not miss the approach of another.

It was a man, with spiky dark-brown hair held up by a piece of cloth wrapped around his forehead. He had dark eyes with white streaks them, and his lips were curved down in a perpetual frown. He wore a brown robe with a white stripe through it, and a carried a long wooden staff with a metal head in one hand, and wore a set of three metal claws on the other. He was looking at the fallen bodies of the Jinchuuriki with a frown, shaking his head in disappointment.

"Clearly, they were not up to facing a shinobi of your calibre," the man said. He gazed upon Naruto, taking in his torn cloak, dented armour and blood-splattered mask. His lips twitched. "You've become very good at murdering children, Uzumaki Naruto."

"Who are you?" Naruto demanded.

"My name is Kazuma," the man introduced himself. He gripped his staff. "Former member of the Twelve Guardians, survivor of the Fifteenth Fire Lord's coup d'état, and bringer of the truth." He pointed the staff at Naruto. "Stand down, and you'll survive."

"I've just slaughtered your Jinchuuriki," Naruto said flatly. He gripped a kunai and took a step forward. "You don't scare me as much."

"Them?" Kazuma scoffed. "Please. As if I expected the Third Hokage to fall to that level of opponent. No," he shook his head, giving a dark smile, "No, my most powerful weapon has yet to enter the field of battle. I actually thought that the Tier-1s would be able to pierce the Fire Palace defences." He gave Naruto a considering look. "Clearly not."

"What do you want?" asked Naruto, his jaw set.

"Revenge," Kazuma answered almost immediately. "I am a loyal member of the Twelve Guardians, the last witness to the murder of the _true_ Fire Lord. He was a great man, slain by treason and treachery. The Hokage and the fraud have much to answer for."

He lifted up a hand, the three claw wrist-blades glinting.

"This is the start of something new," Kazuma proclaimed. His voice was thick with an almost hysteric-like quality. "This is the start of the end, the fall of the Hidden Village and their monopoly on the world." He glared at Naruto. "With this act of violence, I bring peace, first here, to the Land of Fire, and then to the rest of the world! The Feudal Courts will rise up against their oppressors. For true peace, there can only be one ki-"

His voice was cut off, and his eyes widened. A blue light flashed at the end of his staff- wind elemental chakra- and he swung it with a speed and force that even Naruto would have had trouble dodging. Something- or somebody- had appeared by his side, a single hand reaching out, and the staff struck them-

- and continued on swinging. Kazuma's eyes widened even as the momentum of his blow overbalanced him. The figure next to him reached for him, the arm passing through the outstretched arm and down through the shoulder and into the chest as if the figure was a ghost.

It wasn't a ghost. There was a sudden, terrible cracking noise. Naruto watched with wide eyes as the man seemed to appear, the grass crunching under his feet and the hem of his black cloak swaying in the wind. His hand was lying right in the Kazuma's chest, and with a terrible flex of muscle, blood spurted out of Kazuma's mouth. With a bleeding nose and one, last betrayed look, Kazuma fell to the ground, falling through the newly-emerged figure as if he wasn't even there.

"Urgh, yuck!" the man exclaimed.

His dark robes flapped in the wind, his spike, black hair swaying on top of his head, his face covered with an orange-swirling mask. The man shook his arm a few times, small splatters of blood falling onto the ground, and he looked up at Naruto. Then, with a cock of his head, he made the peace sign.

"Hey, Naruto!"

"…Tobi?"


	41. The Coup: Part III

**Chapter Forty-One**

**The Coup III**

* * *

><p>Kanoshi was burning. Fires had spread from different parts of the city, merging over near the business district into one large conflagration. Smoke rose into the air, brushing against the hazy-purple barrier that surrounded the large city. Normally, the Royal Guard and Military Police would have been on the fire in an instant, dousing the flames with carefully-placed water techniques. However, the city had been emptied of most of the shinobi, and what was left of the Royal Guard battled against the forces of Kazuma, leader of the revolutionary movement against the Third Hokage and the Fifteenth Fire Lord.<p>

The same Kazuma that lay prone on the ground in the gardens of the Fire Palace, a trickle of blood leaking form his mouth, his face still twisted up in surprise. A man stood over him, dressed in a full-body black robe. He had spike-black hair and his face was obscured by a spiralling orange mask. His gloved hand was slick with blood.

A shinobi stood opposite him. This boy wore a grey armoured vest, and long, dark pants. His arms were bare, and a crimson spiral had been tattooed on his right shoulder. His spikey blond hair rose above the white, patterned ceramic mask that covered his face.

Naruto Uzumaki stared at Tobi in stunned surprise. His eyes flickered down, assessing Kazuma's corpse- it was real, and the man was definitely dead. He surveyed the areas around him. The last vestiges of the rapidly fading demonic chakra of those impossible Jinchuuriki pervaded his senses, but he couldn't see, hear or sense anybody else around him.

"Tobi…" Naruto's voice trailed off. It was guarded and cautious, despite the fact that the man had just defeated an enemy of Konoha. "What are you doing?"

Tobi ignored him, bending over Kazuma's body and nudging it with his toe. He cocked his head, tapping on the side of his mask, and let out a theatrical sigh of disappointment.

"Aw, man!" he exclaimed. He sagged, shaking his head. "I really shouldn't have done that." He turned and gave Naruto a half-hearted shrug. "Well, what are you going to do?" He leaned forward, as if confiding something of great importance. "He _was_ a bit of an idiot, you know."

Naruto was confused, although he didn't let it show in his body language. He kept his guard up, observing the mysterious shinobi in front of him very carefully. He had only met Tobi twice- once on his way home from a party, where the two had exchanged maybe thirty-seconds of conversation. Then again, during the Chunin Exams, when Orochimaru had been bearing to kill him and Tobi had appeared, somehow forcing the powerful, dangerous S-rank missing-nin to retreat.

The latter just proved that Tobi, or whoever he was, was not a normal shinobi. To fight evenly against one of those monstrous S-rank shinobi- well, you had to _be_ an S-rank shinobi yourself.

"Who are you?" Naruto asked Tobi quietly.

The man was humming absently to himself, but as Naruto asked that question he stopped. He angled his head, his swirling orange mask and the single, dark eye-hole within it regarding him. There was an almost abrupt shift in the body language, as if the simple question had somehow meant more than it should have. Then, it was gone as quickly as it had come, and Tobi was chuckling.

"Ah, well, some people call me Tobi," the man sad lightly. He tilted his head again, and his voice grew deeper and more serious. "Although, I suppose if I really had to tell you who I was, I would say that…" He leaned forward somewhat menacingly. "I'm nobody."

The air thickened with tension, the sudden blaze of hostile intent from the cloaked man made Naruto shift back a bit, his eyes widening behind his mask. Then, as quickly as it had come, the intent disappeared and Naruto could breathe a little easier. Tobi was idly scratching the back of his head, glancing around the ruined gardens around them, as if sight-seeing was more important than the A-rank shinobi in front of him.

Naruto was beginning to grimly realise that perhaps it was.

"I'm just a nobody," Tobi repeated quietly. "Nobody important, anyway."

"What do you want?" Naruto asked as tonelessly as possible. His eyes flickered to Kazuma's corpse. "Are you here to assist Konoha?"

"Assist Konoha…" Tobi let the words drawl from his mouth and gave a small chuckle. "Goodness no. See this?" He gestured to the devastated gardens the fallen bodies of the children and soldiers and the fires rising in the distance. "Without bragging, I have to say that this is mostly me."

Naruto stilled. "_You_ did this?" he asked quietly. Anger surged through his veins and he gritted his teeth, his fingers clenching into his palms.

"I helped," Tobi explained after a short pause. He shrugged carelessly. "You could say that I'm a _freelancer_ of sorts. Kazuma hired me to help him build his perfect army." He pointed at one of the fallen children, a wide-eyed boy still baring his sharpened teeth even after the chakra of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox had dissipated. "That was my work."

Naruto exhaled noisily, struggling to regain his temper. A very large, instinctive part of him wanted to kill the man in front of him right at that very moment. The rattling chains and flare of heat from the pit of his stomach urged for him to lunge, to take Tobi by the throat and _squeeze_…

"Of course, Kazuma didn't know that I couldn't give two shits about his little revolution," Tobi continued. He spoke easily and calmly, as if discussing nothing more important than the weather. "I just wanted a chance to play with some of the chakra of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox. _Very _interesting stuff, by the way, and it was hard getting a hold of it. Especially since, you know…"

He pointed at Naruto, or more specifically, at Naruto's stomach. Naruto's hand came up to instinctively shield his belly from the masked man's gaze, and the embers of fire burning at the pit of his stomach grew stronger, and the chains continued to rattle.

"Still, there was enough left over from the Fox's attack on Konoha, and if you tweak it _just right_, it can start to replicate itself." Tobi spread out his arms. "Hence, mini-Jinchuuriki. A perfect little army for Kazuma once you and Sarutobi were dead. With Konoha's Jinchuuriki gone, the Village wouldn't be able to stand up to him- or so he reckoned."

He kicked Kazuma's body.

"Moron," Tobi said just a tad darkly. "As if his Revolution would have changed anything."

"If you didn't care about his revolution, why did you help him?" Naruto asked quietly.

The information that this masked-man was handing out so casually was what had kept Konoha's Department of Intelligence occupied for the past few months. For Tobi to be explaining anything at all was either misinformation, or, as he had said, the orange-masked shinobi truly didn't care at all.

"Why did I help him?" Tobi echoed the question. He hummed to himself, sounding thoughtful as he paced on the spot. "Well, there's a long answer and a short answer. The long answer is so long that it can have a short answer all by itself, and the other short answer is sort of related to the first short answer but-" He trailed off, sounding bewildered. "Why _did _I help him again?"

"Answer the question," Naruto demanded.

His chakra was threatening to explode his _tenketsu_, all coiled tightly within his body, and the ground around him was shuddering slightly. The pressure he was pushing onto the air around him had been enough to make Chunin fall to their feet, but Tobi looked unaffected and unafraid.

"Well, the long answer is…" Tobi trailed off, and once again his rather light-hearted voice deepened and became deadly serious. "I did it for peace."

"Peace?" Naruto repeated the word. He looked around him, feeling the faintest surge of disbelief. "This is peace?"

"You can't make an omelette without breaking a few eggs," Tobi rattled off, waving Naruto's comment off dismissively. His tone was again light-hearted. "You can't build a village without chopping down some trees. You can't power a technique without expending some chakra. You can't blah blah blah…" He shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, this is for peace- a peace that this horrible world of ours has never known."

His voice darkened, becoming serious again- and just a tad deranged- and Naruto felt an odd coil of wariness tighten his heart. The man in front of him- was he insane? He was certainly acting like it.

"You," Tobi said quietly, dangerously, pointing at Naruto. "You are a both a symptom and a cause for this world of ours. Uzumaki Naruto. The perfect soldier. Loyal. Obedient. Merciless." He titled his head. "I saw how you slit Akiyama Minoru's throat. You didn't even pause. _Murderer_."

Naruto didn't say anything, but he looked pointedly at the body of Kazuma lying at Tobi's feet. The man still looked surprised and shocked even in death.

Tobi shook his head. "I killed him because I had to," he dismissed Naruto's silent retort. "I killed him because his death would further my cause. You killed Minoru because it was an automatic reaction to a perceived threat against your Village. We're very different, you and I."

Naruto didn't really see how. Nonetheless, he filed that thought away, his eyes narrowing as he regarded Tobi warily.

"How did you know about Minoru?" He asked quietly.

Tobi paused. When he spoke, his voice was again light-hearted. "Oops," he said blankly. He chuckled, rubbing the back of his head. "You got me. Clever boy. Yeah, I was there. I'm the one who gave him that little printing machine. From where I come from, it's not _that_ uncommon- although still apparently a secret. Good old pain is good for something."

A secret where torture was the punishment- no wonder Konoha hadn't heard of the machines before.

"I was also the one who dropped off those rather surly lot of ANBU agents you fought against."

Naruto twitched.

"Yeah, I know that you guys have met." Tobi practically giggled. "It was pretty hilarious. It was my idea, too, by the way, the whole 'disgrace Sarutobi's apprentice' thing. Did you like my photo work? That was me too. I don't like to get up close and personal, but I needed the Fire Court to bring you here, so BAM- dead kid."

"Who are they?" Naruto demanded fiercely.

"Just some more nobodies." Tobi dismissed them with a wave of his hand. "Not as awesome as I am, naturally. Actually, they're more like _you_. I actually despise them more than I despise you, so yeah, you have that going for you, at least." He straightened. "They call themselves SPARK. After all, to fan the flames of a revolt, all you need is a single…" He trailed off.

They had been talking for over two minutes now. The fire continued to rage behind them, and the sound of men shouting and women screaming echoed around them. Tobi seemed to be content merely standing there and literally giving him all of the answers to the questions that had plagued him in the last few months. The more he wrapped his head around it, the more things started to make sense.

Analysis of the battlefield where Tobi and Orochimaru had fought had shown traces of chakra moulded in a way very similar to some of Konoha's Space-Time Techniques. If that was true, and Tobi could use those vaunted techniques, then it was quite plausible that he would be to slip in a team of enemy operatives wherever he wanted, bypassing all of Konoha's patrols and squads.

From the operative's attacks, to Kazuma's boldness in attacking the Capital, to Minoru's involvement- it was starting to fall into place. All except one thing…

"Why are you here?" Naruto asked again. He gestured at Kazuma. "You said you didn't agree with his ideas, so why go along with them? What do you want?"

"Like I said," Tobi began patiently. "I want peace." He paused, and then shook his head. "Also, I wanted you to stick around for the next few minutes. Remember how I said I had _two_ goals?"

Naruto was immediately on edge. He took a step back, adopting a defensive stance, his chakra rising.

"Well, you're pretty important to my vision of peace," Tobi continued. He waggled his finger at Naruto. "But not as you are. You're _incomplete_. So you see, Kazuma was my way of trying something to fix that. Really, all of this, everything that happened, all the people that died- it's all been because of you."

He angled his head and pinned Naruto with a look, and from underneath the eyehole Naruto saw a flash of crimson.

"Those fake-jinchuuriki you fought? They were the _rejects_," Tobi said quietly. "Kazuma wasn't going to be able to kill the Third Hokage with them. No, he needed something a little more powerful."

He snapped his fingers and the air around him distorted. Rippling spirals appeared in front of him, larger than the man himself, and the colours of the gardens around them blurred as a space-time technique broke the air in front of them. Cracks appeared, black streaks against the backdrop of fire that led into nothingness, and from those cracks came a flash of crimson light.

Something roared- a terribly powerful and horribly familiar roar that shook the world around them. The ground rumbled and Naruto stumbled back, his stomach burning in agony and his eyes widening behind his mask. From the crack in the air came a figure bathed in crimson light. Dark-red and black energies crackled over a boy's frame, insidious chakra bubbling up into the air. Skin was peeling off, burning underneath the power of that potent chakra, and clothes exploded into flames, puffs of smoke rising into the air.

It was another Jinchuuriki- but a far more powerful one.

Tobi stood behind the _thing_ as the air around him returned to normal. A loud, steady hum of power rose into the air as the Jinchuuriki flexed. Four, glowing tails stretched out behind its head, where a set of long, fang-like ears stretched back, and two glowing white eyes speared him with a dangerous look. It opened its mouth and let out a puff, steam rising up into the air from its maw. The Jinchuuriki's very footsteps burned the ground and liquefied the dirt around it, and standing half as tall as Naruto, it was an incredibly intimidating figure to look at.

Never mind the miasma of power that surrounded the thing, a torrent of potent chakra that pressed against Naruto. The air was suddenly hot, and a nearby tree burst into flames. Naruto was sweating behind his mask, and he staggered back.

"Well," Tobi called out over the noise of the newly emerged Jinchuuriki. "I'll leave you two to hash things out. It doesn't matter which one of you lives and dies, either one will probably work. If you do live, Naruto, I want you to tell Sarutobi something for me."

The air around him began to distort as he used his space-time technique. His arm disappeared into the blur, and then his shoulder and legs. The orange of his masks made the technique look almost hypnotic, and Naruto almost missed the last thing that Tobi said before he disappeared.

"_Tell him that I killed his wife_."

And then he was gone, disappearing into the very air around them. Whatever control or measures that Tobi had in place to keep the Jinchuuriki in front of him calm disappeared with him, and the beast shook its head as if dazed. Then, it reared its head back and opened its mouth.

A terrifying roar emerged from the maw of the beast, booming over the entire city and echoing out into the lands around. The trees shook, leaves and small branches falling, and the ground shuddered. The heat around Naruto grew even hotter and the miasma of power surrounding the Jinchuuriki grew thicker. Then, the beast lowered its head and stared directly at Naruto with its two blank, glowing white eyes. It snorted, puffs of flame emerging from its mouth, a loud, deep growl rumbling out from its throat.

Naruto stared at the Jinchuuriki for a single instant as its four tails flicked lazily in the air. Then, he turned around and, heart racing, the blond ANBU Captain ran away.

* * *

><p>Naruto darted through the ruined gardens around them, his mind whirring even as his body was flooded with adrenaline. The… the <em>thing <em>behind him, the beast, made his head hurt, and even now he could feel his body burning with its close contact with that horrible chakra. Even with the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox trapped within his stomach, he had never met anything as truly terrifying as what he had just seen.

Was that what Konoha had seen 13 years ago? Was that why they had looked down upon him so?

If so, in that moment of sudden clarity and numbness, Naruto could not blame them in the slightest. Even now, a hundred metres away from the beast, he could feel the dense chakra radiating behind him, something dark and powerful.

A second roar emerged from the beast and the wind howled between the cherry blossom trees.

The air shifted and Naruto bent his knees, reflexively jumping up onto the wall as his instincts screamed at him to move. An instant later, something large and heavy slammed into the ground where he had been standing, gouging the grass and sending up a spray of dirt into the air. It was a large piece of rubble, broken off from the wall in the earlier fights. A second piece came flying at him from far behind and Naruto continued running, even as it struck the top of the wall. Just as if it had been struck with a trebuchet, the wall exploded outwards and stone and debris fell to the ground with a thud.

Then, there was the sound of approaching footsteps and Naruto glanced over his shoulder. The beast was following him, lopping along the ground on all fours as a miasma of crimson chakra bubbled around it, burning anything that came close. Murderous intent poured from it as it quickly gained on Naruto, moving far quicker than the young shinobi would have guessed.

Naruto gritted his teeth, reached into his vest and slapped an explosive tag on the nearest tree as he ran past it. He did it for the next tree, and then used a _Body Replacement Technique_ to switch places with a nearby park-bench. It shattered an instant later as the beast tore into it, but Naruto had already planted the next explosive tag and he circled back. He reached into his vest, palmed the handle of a kunai and hurled a series of them forward, They all soared at the demon- and then missed, flying past it and striking the wall at the base. The demon roared at the apparent attack, and Naruto reflexively flinched at the sound as he ended his run in a crouch.

Two fingers came up, and Naruto's lip curled behind his mask.

"_Detonate!_"

With a thunderous bang, the explosive tags detonated. The trunk of the trees surrounding the demon cracked and they fell down upon it, crushing it with wood, branches and foliage. An instant later, the kunai- and the explosive tags wrapped around the hilt- flashed and disappeared underneath a ball of flame as the base of the wall was cracked. It slowly toppled down upon the ground, right where the demon lay pinned by three trees. The crimson-chakra disappeared completely as the heavy stones toppled down upon it, crashing into the ground with a terrible rumble.

Naruto wasn't done. He reached into his vest, pulled and an entire reel of _Grade-5 _explosive tags and threw it on the debris pile. Then, with two fingers and a surge of chakra, he pointed at it just as the crimson chakra began to emerge from the pile of debris.

The world went white.

An explosion that would have rattled the windows on the other side of the city tore through the once-beautiful gardens. Huge plumes of flame, smoke and dust rose up into the air as Naruto staggered backwards from the sheer force that the explosion had produced. His body ached as it was buffeted by the force of the explosion, and a high-pitched whine screamed in his ears. His vision blurred, and he shook his head, a little disorientated.

The world around him was hazy and dark, a falling plume of dust coating everything around him. Naruto stared intently where he had last seen the demon, his body tense and alert. The high-pitched whine in his ear began to subside after a few moments, and visibility began to improve.

Something stirred. The debris shook.

Then a second roar just as deafening as the first blasted out into the night sky. It tore through the shattered remains of the wall and the splintered, jagged ends of wood, blowing it all away with a single bellow. Crimson chakra flashed underneath it, and Naruto reflexively darted to the side. He was too late, and one of the flying pieces of debris clipped him in the shoulder. He spun about as something cracked, crying out in pain only to be silence as he slammed into the ground with a thud, bouncing along it for several metres until he came to a stop.

He groaned, rising his head, and watched with blearly eyes as the demon reared its head back. Something flickered in its brilliant white maw, and Naruto flinched. He channelled his chakra and slammed a single hand down on the ground, pouring in as much power as he could into the next technique.

_Earth Release: Rise of the Titan!_

It was shoddily done, but the ground rumbled and a giant arm of stone burst from the ground. It's huge, rocky palm faced towards the demon, its thick, stone fingers shielding Naruto from its view. An instant later, a blazing streak of fire slapped against it- and then another, and another. A dozen came, and then a dozen dozens- hundreds of them all in the matter of seconds. Each streak of fire chipped a little bit of the stone away and within a matter of seconds the giant arm of the Titan had been reduced to rubble.

Naruto was no longer there.

The demon roared in frustration and slapped its hands on the ground.

The ground shuddered and Naruto, hiding within the dirt and making good use of the _Underground Excavation_ Technique, held himself very still. He was breathing quickly and his shoulder hurt. Then, the dirt around him shuddered. It shuddered again and light began to peak through muddy depths below him. Naruto's eyes widened and he burst out from the dirt in an instant, jumping up and away.

Two glowing claws erupted from the earth an instant later, following him on arms that weaved around like serpents. They were impossibly long, and as Naruto darted to the left and jumped away from a swipe that rippled the air around him, he saw that the demon had placed both its arms into the ground right up to its shoulders. Naruto saw an opportunity, squared his jaw, and then stood still as he made a single hand sign.

The two glowing claws grabbed him, one around the head and the other on one of his legs. They lifted him up and the demon roared in satisfaction as it _twisted_, tearing Naruto to pieces as it tore him in half. Naruto gurgled…and then exploded in a puff of smoke.

The ground erupted in a shower of dirt and, from behind the demon, Naruto emerged. He held a glowing _rasengan _in his hand and his mask was covered in mud. He lunged forward, thrusting it at the demon's exposed back- but then the demon's waving tails whipped down upon him with enough force to crush Naruto, the ground beneath him and the pipe beneath them both. A spray of water hissed up into the air, evaporating almost instantly when it came into contact with the miasma of power surrounding the demon.

The demon turned its head one-hundred and eighty degrees, peering down at the remains it had pinned on its tail- and then something exploded in a puff of smoke. The _real_ Naruto sprung from the ground in front of the demon. Its arms burrowed into the ground, its tails behind it and its head turned, the demon could not stop the shinobi from slamming the ultra-condensed whirring chakra deep into the back of its head. The blue chakra met the red chakra and a loud, high-pitched whine split the air. Naruto's ears ruptured at the sound and he staggered, but he held the technique straight as the _rasengan_ ground away at the protective coating of foul chakra and began to eat into through towards the Jinchuuriki's skull-

- and then the crimson miasma reared up above the demon's turned head, and it formed the visage of another head, and a pair of long, arms and dangerous claws. It lunged at Naruto just as the _rasengan_ had almost destroyed the chakra cloak, and after whipping its hand back, it slashed down upon Naruto with great force. Naruto disappeared, slammed mightily into the ground- and then he too exploded in a puff of smoke.

From the top of the ruined remains of the wall, Naruto held his hand in a single-hand seal. His heart was racing, his stomach burning, and his ears were still bleeding. Sound was coming back to him, but without the distraction of the real world, all Naruto could hear were the chains- those rattling chains deep within his soul. He pushed them back, he pushed it all back as he whipped through a series of hand-seals. Shadow clones shimmered into existence around him, their hands also forming seals.

_Earth Release: Earth Flow River!_

_Fire Release: Blazing River!_

_Wind Release: Great Wind breakthrough!_

_Lightning Release: Electromagnetic murder!_

The ground rumbled- this time from Naruto's influence- as he and his three shadow clones bombarded the distracted demon with their long-range ninjutsu.

The earth around the Jinchuuriki softened and surged forward, slamming against the glowing crimson figure. The heat of the demon's aura solidified the mud almost immediately, but it left it trapped within a half-cocoon of hardened stone, just as the rest of the mud glowed with a black light and became sticky tar, which flowed over the trapped demon and engulfed it, pushed and fed by the power of the wind technique. The flailing hands, almost twenty metres away, were engulfed by a series of purplish-bluish of furious lightning, and they twitched and recoiled, trapped from returning back to the main body.

This lasted for about three seconds.

Then, the demon roared, and the 'second torso' rose up from its chakra cloak. It slapped away the A-rank combination technique like it was made of paper, one hand glowing in the darkness. Naruto frowned- but then his instincts screamed at him. One hand on the torso, but there had been two bef-

_Squelch._

Naruto looked down as something hot and painful sliced into his chest. The hand had risen from underneath the wall and sliced into his chest, right through his heart. His vest and armour had done nothing to stop it, and distantly he could little bits of melted metal dripping onto his exposed skin, sizzling and blackening the flesh.

_THUMP-THUMP_

It didn't hurt, strangely.

_THUMP-THUMP_

His stomach burned.

_THUMP-THUMP_

With a furious yell, Naruto embraced the chakra of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox within him and flaming cloak of crimson chakra surrounded him. His lips tightened, his canines extended and his pupils dilated, become thin and slit-like. Naruto reached down with a clawed hand, grasped the fiery paw of chakra and casually tore it out of his chest. His flesh hissed and sizzled as it began to close as Naruto grabbed the arm and _pulled_.

The demon was yanked from its feet as Naruto jerked with all of his power, swinging the elongated arm to the side and forcing the demon into the air. It soared sideways and slammed into the wall underneath him, making it shudder and crack, and the arm jerked out of his grip and slithered back to the main body like a snake.

Naruto was shuddering, the power threatening to overcome him. The emotions bottled up from the last few months rose up to the surface of his mind- every single thought of regret, of self-doubt, of fear and frustration and helplessness- it all came out. It attacked him, filling his every pore, and Naruto clutched his head. He let out a terrible roar, and then did what all humans did when they were hurt.

He took out on somebody else.

Naruto channelled the anger and fury he felt at the rising demon. Two tails of chakra swished behind him, and with an animalistic snarl, he used them to push off the wall and slammed into the demon below him. Their two chakra cloaks met and blurred, sparks flying around them as Naruto darted around the bigger, more lumbering beast, striking at it with all of the power of his pent-up fury. The raining blows made the other demon roar in anger and it swiped at Naruto desperately, trying to get the transformed ANBU away from it.

Naruto continued up the attack, raining a series of blows that would have shattered the bones of any normal shinobi he had struck. His head was ringing, the chains were rattling and his fists were meeting something solid. The beast had finally staggered up to its feet, however, and it swiped its tails. A huge blow of invisible, incredible force slammed into him and Naruto was knocked off his feet and sent tumbling along the ground.

He was up in an instant, but by then the demon had regained its footing and the young ANBU was now forced on the defensive. Naruto was agile, but not as agile as the seemingly-unlimited number of morphing chakra arms and legs. Its four-tails spread out behind it and its maw curved into what could only be a wicked smile as it attacked, battering Naruto around with incredible ease. It was surprisingly nimble and Naruto blows were now barely fazing it

Naruto lunged; clawed hand extended, and drove a fist at the demon's face. It jerked its head away and Naruto missed, his blow slamming into the wall of the Fire Palace and gouging a hole into it. An instant later he ducked, as the claw of the glowing demon took the entire wall out in a shower of splinters. Naruto felt a growl rumble in the back of his throat. His stomach continued to burn, and more and more power was spiralling out of the seal and forming around him.

He gurgled and collapsed on all fours, staggering back. His teeth grew, molars falling out, other sharpened teeth replacing them. Bones creaked and groaned as the corrosive and potent power of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox surged through him, far more power than he had ever used before. He clutched his head, breathing harshly, and managed a look behind him. Three tails lazily waved in the air behind him.

_THUMP-THUMP_

Something beat in his chest, something other than his heart, and a searing flash of pain shot through him. Naruto screamed, and a terrible yowl rose into the air. His vision was growing red, but as he hunched on all fours he could see that the skin on the back of his hand was starting to peel, revealing surging dark-crimson veins of power below.

_THUMP-THUMP_

The chakra of the other demon scorched the air around him as it attacked, but Naruto could barely see it, His vision was made entirely of red, but his body moved reflexively, blocking blows. Every time his body came into contact with the other beasts chakra, though, his vision got just a little bit darker, and the rattle of chains grew louder and louder.

_THUMP-THUMP_

His vision was completely red. He couldn't hear anything. His body had been consumed with flames, and he felt nothing. All he could taste was the acrid taste of burning blood and fire.

_THUMP-THUMP_

_THUMP-THUMP_

_THUMP-THUMP_

_THUMP-THUMP_

His eyes shot open.

He lay on his back on a wet, stone floor. The air above him glowed with a faint red light, and a foul wind breathed over his face. His body was too weak to move, and his mind was too exhausted to try, but nonetheless he forced his head to the side.

Giant golden bars rose from the ground and stretched up into the darkness. The Nine-Tailed Demon Fox curled up behind the cage, large tails wrapped around its body, its head resting upon its paws and its terrible eyes staring right down at him

_THUMP-THUMP_

The noise reverberated throughout the chamber. Now that he was closer to it, it sounded like a heartbeat. Dazedly, Naruto saw the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox's chest rise up and down once.

_THUMP-THUMP_

It rose again.

"**Resonance is occurring,**" the Fox spoke. Its voice boomed in the room, but it also sounded very far away. "**Reunion is at hand. One way or another, I am to be whole."**

Something cold and hard slithered up Naruto's leg. The sound of metal striking upon stone occurred close to his head. Something else started creeping up his arm.

"**What a disgusting man he is**,**"** The Fox said. Hatred rumbled deep within its throat. "**What an abomination he has created**.**"**

Whatever was crawling on him wrapped hard around him, and his bones creaked. Something pulled at him, and Naruto was forced over the ground. His fingers scrabbled about weakly, trying to stop it, trying to do something. The Fox watched with no recognisable emotion in its giant, crimson eyes.

"**What an abomination **_**you**_** have created. How I loathe you, shinobi," **the Fox spoke again. His voice was very faint this time, and Naruto could barely hear it. "**How pathetic and loathsome you are."**

Naruto finally recognised what had grabbed him- rusty, corroded and greedy chains, stretching out form the depths that lay at the very edge of the giant cage. His fingers gripped at the edge of the pit, his nails splitting and breaking as he failed to maintain his hold. He fell, the wind that rushed past his head feeling more like water.

"**How pathetic you are, falling to your own insecurities. Truly, you are an abominable creature, Uzumaki Naruto…"**

The fox's voice grew faint and then faded away as the crimson light at the edge of the put began to shrink. Naruto kept falling, the chains pulling him down and down, and although he was there, he was also outside too, watching what was happening in the real world almost as if he were a bystander.

Two terrible beasts faced each other. Each was surrounded by a miasma of glowing, bubbling crimson chakra. Each crouched on four legs, each had four tails waving behind them, and each had soulless white eyes and a gaping maw that stretched on for eternity. The air around them hissed and spluttered, small crackles of lightning popping, and the smell of ozone reeked from the devastated gardens and battered palace wall.

Naruto stood between them, watching with disinterested eyes.

They ignored his presence- perhaps they could not see him. Naruto couldn't see himself, after all.

They lunged at each other, grappling and fighting, two terrible demons rolling around the ground as they bit and tore into each other with their claws. They struck at each other with blows that would turn a human into a thick, red paste, and they ground shattered around them, giant craters forming with every hit. Water spurted from the broken pipes, bubbling to the surface, and much of it spluttered and hissed as it evaporated on contact with the terrible power that lingered in the air.

One of the demons- himself, Naruto realised dully, although he couldn't tell _how_ he knew that- picked up a large chunk of broken masonry from the walls and threw it, and the three-tonne projectile slammed into the other demon. It let out something reminiscent of a yelp, bouncing along the ground as the rock was pulverised on its hide, and it landed in a crouch on all fours. Fire burned in its maw and is threw out a searing wave of chakra that swept through the gardens. Plants and grass burned, and the landscape was turned to ash and black rock.

Naruto was unaffected. It picked up a blackened tree-trunk, still on fire, and it swatted the other demon aside like somebody would swat a fly. The demon went bounding along the ground again, slamming into the Fire Palace and disappearing underneath a pile of broken wood and stone. Then, two crimson arms shot out and grabbed the broken edges of the palace's wall around them, and the other demon used it to slingshot out of the Fire Palace and onto Naruto. Its head came down and it delivered a devastating blow with its head, slamming down upon Naruto. Naruto roared, the air quaked, and then the two demons rolled and tumbled with each other in a pile of glowing limbs and gnashing maws.

Naruto was on top, hands wrapped around the other demon's throat, but then it kicked Naruto with a mighty thrust of its hind legs. The transformed ANBU went flying away, but his glowing arm whipped out and he grabbed the other demon by the scruff, forcing it along with him. The two demons bounced along the ground and Naruto stretched his arm, picking the demon up and slamming it into a nearby, ruined section of the wall. Huge chunks of rocks fell, and the other demon emerged, shaking its coat of crimson chakra as broken rock began to melt off of it.

It opened its mouth as Naruto recovered his balance, reared its head back and something dense and impossibly heavy smashed into him. Naruto howled in fury as he was lifted off of his feet, flying back from the gardens, clipping the debris of the wall and sent soaring out into the open city.

Naruto- the _real_ Naruto- drifted after him without too much concern.

The enraged Jinchuuriki slammed into a house and the whole thing burst up into flames. The fires rose up as the crimson menace emerged, unharmed and untouched by those flames. Nearby men and women, terrified soldiers and crying children, shrieked and ran from him. The nearby undead that roamed the streets abruptly burst into flame and his mere presence, and whatever technique held them under sway wasn't enough to send them fleeing from him.

Naruto roared, and the windows of the nearby buildings and houses shattered and broke. He grabbed the floor of the blazing ruined home and dug into the concrete and stone. Then, with a loud static hiss of power, Naruto sling-shotted himself back into the direction of the Fire Palace, rising high up into the sky.

Streaks of fire rose to meet him, hundreds of sizzling bullets slapping into his chest. Naruto roared and waved his four glowing tails, and with every wave came a series of fiery blasts that streaked to the ground and bombarded it. Giant plumes of flame and smoke arose, met with the fiery streaks that lit up the night sky. Many missed and struck the barrier surrounding the city, and it glowed and red cracks appeared in the dark purple light.

Naruto was falling, and the two demons once again collided. They tumbled, and Naruto pinned the other demon down, weathering a battering from its tails that caused the ground to rumble with every blow. His leant down, his maw wide open, trying to rip out his enemy's throat, but the other demon held him back. Something dark was flickering in his mouth, glowing bits of blue and red coming together into something dense.

They both sagged into the ground, sinking down and crushing the earth and stone beneath them. Another pipe burst and water flooded the crater they were in. Much of it became steam, which hissed as it rose, obscuring Naruto's vision. He lifted his head back and formed his own dense ball of chakra, knowing instinctively what to do. Neither of them had the patience to wait for too long, and they reared their heads back and fired them at each other within a matter of seconds.

The two powerful blasts of chakra struck each other and ricocheted. One rose up into the air towards the Fire Palace, and it struck the very top of the structure. The huge spire, and the eternal flame that blazed upon it, disappeared in a sphere of blinding white light that devastated over half of the Fire Palace. The other rose up into the sky and struck upon the barrier that surrounded the city. It disappeared in a blinding flash of white light that turned night into day, and as the light receded glowing shards of purple dust rained down upon the city.

Naruto watched all of this with dead eyes.

At the same time, he lay within the very depths of his soul as rusty, corroded and broken chains wrapped around him. They suckled from him like a baby at a teat, taking in all that he was and all that he could have been. His mind was deadened, and although he vaguely knew that this was wrong, he simply did not care- apathy had won the day.

Above him, the light of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox was faint. He was too far down in the pit to see, and there was no light around him. Whatever parts of his mind remained alert struggled against this. He wanted light.

And then there was light.

A bright green glow burst into existence and the chains recoiled. They rattled and twisted away from the light, scraping against each other in the hiss of metal against metal that sounded almost alive. Naruto blinked, taking a sudden breath. He gasped, his eyes widening, and sudden emotion slammed back into him. He looked down at the source of his light, and upon his chest was a brilliant green light glowing from the necklace of Senju Tsunade.

The chains shrieked and rattled, and then came at him again, slamming into him and piercing his skin. Naruto reared his head back as agonising pain struck every part of his being, and he _screamed_-

- and Naruto, cloaked in the power of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, with four tails and white, soulless eyes, reared his head back and _screamed_. He thrashed on the spot, the power receding as a soft, green glow began to emerge from his chest. The other demon shied away from the glow, a low growl sounding oddly like a whimper emerging as he scrambled back. From the miasma of crimson chakra that surrounded him came the first sign of Naruto, and he emerged from it, tearing it off of him with still-clawed hands.

His skin was peeling and reddened, and in several places it was just bare flesh and blood. His eyes were bloodshot and wild, and he had no eyelids. His hair was gone, but even now it began to grow back into blond, spiky locks. Naruto screamed again- and the chains within his mind screamed with him. They had suckled at the demon's chakra, using it to grow strong and overpower Naruto, and now it was gone.

It wanted more.

Naruto flung out his hand in a wild, instinctive gesture, and three rusty chains burst from his arm. They soared through the air, wrapped around the other demon and trapped it. The demon roared, and Naruto matched it with an incoherent scream of rage. He flung out his other hand and more chains burst into existence, rattling loudly as they surged through the air. They wrapped around arms and legs, pinning the beast to the ground. More chains, rusty and half-broken, shout out from all of his _tenketsu_, coming from his back and his chest and neck. They pierced the demon upon the ground, impaling its arms, legs and tails, and wrapping it up in a cocoon of metal.

The demon shrieked and struggled against the chains, even as the crimson miasma around it began to fade. The chains suckled at it greedily, and soon the face of a boy appeared. Naruto paid it no mind, breathing harshly, his body trembling and his mind teetering on the edge of exhaustion.

More chains shot out from his abdomen and the boy screamed in agony. Three tails were pinned down by the chains, and then two. Then there was only one, and the boy let out a final scream of pain before it too faded away. The chains tensed, and then they shattered into showers of sparks and metal, which disappeared into wisps of dark, foul smoke.

Naruto knelt on the ground, and then fell down. His eyes shut.

* * *

><p>Deep within his subconscious, in the large cavern where the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox had been imprisoned, something was happening. The chains rattled and chinked in their pit, which was alight with a fiery reddish-blackish glow. The Nine-Tailed Demon Fox watched all of this as it lay there, and for the first time in months, it lifted its head off of its paws.<p>

Then, it inhaled- and the wind in the cavern _roared_. Wisps of crimson chakra began to waft up from the pit as the Fox sucked in a breath that seemed to go on forever. More wisps came, and then rising geysers of the crimson power was forced up out of the pit. The Fox continued inhaling and the power flowed effortlessly between the golden bars of the cage, past the seal that adorned its door, and was sucked into the gargantuan beast's mouth.

The last of the light disappeared and the Fox stopped inhaling. Its teeth gleaming, it began to laugh, a horrible noise that echoed out into the cavern. Even the chains stopped rattling and the metal cowered underneath the force of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox's sheer happiness.

It would take some time, but soon it would be whole.

Perhaps, for the first time in a century, it would soon be free.

It could only dream. It rested its head down upon its paws once more and closed its large, scarlet eyes.

* * *

><p><em>Because Ying!KyuubiMinator was just dumb.<em>


	42. Status Quo

**A/N: So this has been on DLP for about a month, and I totally forgot that I hadn't posted it here. Here's the conclusion to the Civil War Arc, a nice little happier piece. It felt good to write this after all the grimdark stuff in the past arc.**

**Somebody had a whinge a chapter or two ago saying that I need to have technique names and descriptions at the bottom of the page, etc, etc. Sorry, but that's dumb, and I won't be doing that. I believe in a 'show, not tell' style of writing, and if you can't pick up or guess what a technique is doing, then I either haven't done my job properly or you need to re-read it. Most of them are pretty self-explanatory. **

**Enjoy.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Forty-One<strong>

**Status Quo**

* * *

><p>Kanoshi was a large city that had been built on one of the Great Plains of the Land of Fire. A large river, drawing water all the way from the mountain ranges of the Land of Earth, flowed down from the north-west, and it cut close to the city, bringing with it the trade of the western nations. Small towns had been built around the river, supporting the burgeoning mercantile economy, and usually a constant trickle of carts and carriages would travel to and from the river docks, bringing in supplies and passengers.<p>

Now, the carts and carriages had stopped. The twinkling stores were blotted out by huge plumes of smoke that rose from the Land of Fire's Capital City and the outlying towns, and large files raged uncontrolled. A shimmering barrier of dark purple enclosed Kanoshi itself, trapping in the occupants of the city as they the army of the revolutionary Kazuma began its attack.

From the vantage point several kilometres away, at the edge of the tree line of the nearest forest, the black-ops operatives- codenamed Team SPARK- crouched at the very top of the foliage of the trees. They all wore dark robes and blank silver masks. Their leader, designated SPARK I, held a pair of binoculars and he watched the beginning of the Land of Fire's Civil War with the quiet sense of achievement.

It had been a difficult mission. Team SPARK had had the support of several other squads at the very beginning of the operation, but that support had dwindled as Konoha had increased patrols its patrols and tightened its internal security. The other teams had returned back to the Village, leaving Team SPARK behind in the deep recesses of the Land of Fire's forests to fend for themselves.

It had been hard avoiding patrols, gathering supplies from nearby drop-points and continuing to run their operations.

Much of their success was due to one of the freelancers that Kazuma had hired. Team SPARK had been initially dubious of the orange-masked man, and even SPARK IV, their best sensor, hadn't been able to get a read upon them. Nonetheless, the man's strange techniques and unique knowledge had allowed Team SPARK to travel around Konoha unheeded. The freelancer had also had contacts deep within the logistical chain of command, and as such they had been able to implement several successful false-flag operations incriminating Sarutobi's latest protégé.

Kazuma was mad, and his idea of a 'Jinchuuriki army' was just as bad. That didn't really matter to SPARK I- his orders had never included the need for Kazuma to _win_, so long as the revolution weakened the Land of Fire and Konoha as a whole. SPARK I's hands flashed, twisting into a silent non-verbal code that only he and his team knew of.

_: Status on Alpha and Bravo :_

Spark IV answered. _: Bravo has moved away from priority target, seeking secondary target-3:_ He paused, tilting his head in the air. His loose brown hair ruffled in the wind behind his mask. _: Location of Alpha remains unknown :_

SPARK III answered that for them, her hands moving rapidly. _: Sentry indicates presence of Alpha in sector S-4-G of city. Verifying… : _She paused, angling one of her remote spies in for a closer look. _: Chakra presence confirmed, visual presence confirmed, olfactory presence confirmed – Alpha has left priority target :_

SPARK I nodded in confirmation. _: Begin the operation : _He signed.

On the tree branch above them, SPARK V clapped his hands in a seal. With SPARK II and SPARK VI maintaining a very sophisticated barrier technique, only the members of the black-ops team could feel the sudden surge of chakra that flowed through the air. SPARK V didn't make a sound, but the strain on his body was nonetheless quite visible. He stood in that position for a few moments and then nodded.

Next to him, the blank-masked SPARK III signed on her brother's behalf. _: Infiltration complete- the Palace has been breached. Gas canisters deployed – the Bunker has been neutralised – No life signs :_

_: Confirm_ _: _SPARK I ordered.

The two summoners were silent for at least a minute. Then, SPARK V shook his head silently, and SPARK III's fingers flashed.

_: Negative- Priority Target missing : _

SPARK I nodded calmly. _: Locate target – search for multiple life signs in a small area – confirm locations:_

The two operatives did so, and for the next few minutes SPARK I watched the city burn. The faint sounds of screaming and yelling rose up into the air, but the man was unaffected. He idly noted a series of flashes- _explosive tags, class-three, clustered within one metre radius_- near the South Gate. The Third Hokage was undoubtedly on the move- and it wouldn't take the God of all Shinobi to scatter his enemies to the wind and bring down that barrier. When that happened, SPARK I and his team were not going be there.

_: Contact – clustered life forms detected, body-heat, increased level of humidity and carbon dioxide- first floor – two shinobi present, sash of the Twelve Guardians confirmed :_

_: Begin the operation- infiltrate and assassinate : _

_: Understood- Assuming direct control :_

SPARK I watched as SPARK III and SPARK V took control of their tiny rodent summons. They would undoubtedly be sneaking up on the two Guardians, waiting for a chance to leap at them and inject them with a cocktail of drugs, hormones, several powerful mind-altering substances and a dose of chakra. It would be enough for the two black-ops shinobi to influence and control the actions of the Guardians for afar, entering the room where their priority target waited and terminating him in a matter of moments.

_: Direct control assumed – moving to terminate :_

Both SPARK III and V radiated a sense of intense concentration, their hands twisted up into the _snake _hand-seal. For a few moments, nothing happened. Then, SPARK V jerked back and let out an audible groan, his head snapping back. He stumbled, loosing his place on the branch, and began to fall, but SPARK IV jumped from her branch and snatched him from the air. SPARK III let out a little shriek a second later and collapsed, leaning against the trunk of the tree, panting harshly.

_: Report! : _SPARK I's hands flashed.

_: Mission failure – Alpha present in the room – proxies terminated : _ SPARK III managed to report with trembling fingers.

The backlash of the aborted technique was significant enough that SPARK I could see a trickle of blood oozing out of SPARK V's ears. He nodded, emotionless, and raised his hand to signal his team to withdraw- they had failed in their chance to eliminate the Fire Lord, but it had merely been an attack of opportunity, and not a requirement. His superiors would be pleased enough to hear that the Land of Fire's capital was in flames- and there was always a chance that Kazuma could win, however small that it was.

Then a sudden burst of red light flashed in the corner of his eye, and he jerked his head back to the city. A crimson light was glowing at the base of the Fire Palace, the light pulsing ominously. There was a cold feeling in the air, and something heavy settled down upon them. SPARK I was legitimately surprised at the sheer power he could feel, and it was something that he had only felt once before when Kazuma had demonstrated the power of his Tier-1 weapons.

The other man had always been assured of the next weapon, the Tier-2, and SPARK I could see why. How had the man managed to create such a powerful _Jinchuuriki_? This changed thing- a Tier-1 weapon had been decided by his superiors to be insignificant. The level of power that the Tier-2 weapon was displaying, however, was immense. Should such a thing be replicated... SPARK I took a deep breath and made a field decision.

SPARK I's hands flashed. _: New priority orders_ – _secure rebel leader and extract to home village for debriefing – II and VI, continue ma- :_

He was cut off by a flash of bright light and a thunderous boom that echoed around them. A large explosion had just gone off at the base of the Fire Palace, and for a moment the crimson presence of the Tier-2 disappeared underneath the rising ball of flame. Then, it reappeared and the presence came off even stronger than before. For a moment, nothing happened, and then there was a _second _presence- just as powerful as the first. SPARK I belayed his orders, waving his hand and cancelling his message.

Konoha had just deployed their Jinchuuriki to counter Kazuma's. It would be an unacceptable risk to enter the city at this point, not until things had calmed down.

The two beasts fought amongst the Fire Palace, crimson light ebbing and dimming as they collided with each other, sprang apart and collided with each other again. A part of the wall was destroyed, something hung in the air and streaks of fire shot up to meet it by the hundreds. At roughly the same time, great plumes of fire burst into existence, and then the two presences collided again. There was a flare of light, a sudden and terrible surge of pressure washed over them- even at the distance they were- and then two _beams_ of brilliant light shot up into the air. One slammed into the spire of the Fire Palace and it disappeared in an instant, shattered under the terrible force of the attack. The other struck the barrier and it too disappeared, cracked purple light falling down to the ground akin to broken glass.

SPARK I watched in silence.

Something had happened, and one of the foul presences had considerably weakened- the second one to have appeared. For a moment, it seemed as if Kazuma had had his victory, but then the first one abruptly disappeared and the city fell into silence. With the failure of the barrier, reinforcements were rapidly approaching, hundreds of shinobi from Konoha sprinting at the city at breakneck pace

SPARK I had seen enough.

The battle was lost. Konoha had been weakened, but they had ultimately prevailed. Team SPARK did not have the military might to take the capital themselves, and their assets seem to have either perished or were about to fall into the rapidly closing net of approaching Leaf-Nin.

Operation SPARK was concluded.

_: Contact! :_ SPARK IV's hands flashed in sudden alarm. _: Close range, twenty metres- four shinobi from the east :_ She paused. _: Seven shinobi from the east, nine from the west :_ She paused again and quietly shook her head. _: We're surrounded_ _:_

SPARK I felt the barest flicker of frustration forming at the pit of his stomach. He stood up, casually brushing aside the emotion as he had been doing all of his life, and surveyed the area around them. However they had done it, a full platoon of shinobi surrounded them, not even trying to hide their presence now. They wore black robes and blank white-faced masks, and stood on the branches of the trees all around them, staring silently at them.

They made no move to attack as Team SPARK fell back in a close, defensive formation. The barrier around them, apparently useless, fell.

From one of the branches came the first sound that the approaching enemies had made, and it was the sound of wood hitting wood. From the shadows came an old man leaning heavily on a wooden cane. His arm was bandaged and drawn tight to his chest, and he wore strips of cloth around his forehead and down on of his eyes. He stood on the branch, surveying them with one half-closed eye.

"So you're the ones who have been playing in my backyard," the old man said quietly. His mouth twitched. "Of course you would come to observe the results of your efforts."

SPARK I did not move. Behind him, he could hear a faint buzz of insects moving in the darkness, and the shadows cast down by the bright moon were slowly extending their way.

"You should be proud," the old man continued. "Your operations were masterfully done." He drew a sword from the top of his cane and pointed the gleaming blade at them. Then, his voice rose as he addressed his men. "Take them- alive, if possible."

SPARK I knew what must be done. He felt only the slightest pang of regret as he made a single hand-seal in a single instant, just as the other operatives lunged at them. Shadows fell upon them, freezing them in position, and they were suddenly surrounded by a hazy sphere of insects. It was too late, however, and SPARK I watched steadily as his unsuspecting teammates were consumed with blue flame.

SPARK III let out a startled shriek- she had not been expecting the suicide technique- as fire exploded from every orifice, and she managed to raise a trembling hand. SPARK V and her brushed fingertips, both forms alight, and then the rest of their bodies were consumed by the powerful flames. Even as he too burned live, SPARK I held himself strong. He ignored the other shinobi around them, even as the first ineffective water techniques were produced, and instead he looked up at the sky. His mask fell from his face, revealing a scarred, hardened face, but the expression on it was almost wistful.

Whatever SPARK I was thinking at his final moments caused him to smile faintly. Then, he too disappeared underneath the raging blue flame and his entire world went white.

* * *

><p>One week after the Kanoshi Rebellion, Uzumaki Naruto stood in the Fire Palace just before a grand set of doors. His armour, vest and mask were gone, and he wore a set of very formal robes. Red silk fell down to his ankles, bound with a bright yellow sash, and a cloak of sleek black adorned his back. On the cloak were a series of images that had been carefully stitched into brilliant fabric, of a terrible crimson figure and a small shinobi with blonde hair fighting. Naruto was currently wearing a set of clothes that was probably worth more than anything he had ever earned in his life. The Land of Wind silk was pleasant to wear, but he nonetheless felt extremely uncomfortable.<p>

It didn't help that the real fight against the false Jinchuuriki had gone nothing like the fight that had been depicted on his cloak, and depicted of the large tapestry that the seamstresses and servants had been working on all week. Nonetheless, Naruto knew better than to say anything when presented with the clothes as a gift from the Fire Lord himself.

The young, blond ANBU stood there stonily. Two of the surviving Guardians, those that had returned with the Fire Lord's son, flanked him- either protecting him from others, or protecting the others _from him_. A gaggle of servants and attendants flocked around him, their drab brown robes rather plain when contrasted with his own clothes, and they fretted over him, tucking back his hair, smoothing out his robes and generally brushing against him.

They were too close, and Naruto resisted his well-honed instincts, which were insisting that he should retreat- and possibly bombard them all with a fire technique.

It had been a week since the attempted coup d'état by Kazuma, and Naruto had unfortunately been out for most of its conclusion. The battle with the false Jinchuuriki had been taxing, and he had only awakened three days later under the watchful eyes of Jiraiya and Tsunade. The latter had been there to tend to his medical needs, and the former had been there to inspect his seal. His transformation into what Jiraiya was calling a 'Version Two Jinchuuriki Form' had been hushed up as much as possible, but nonetheless the Third Hokage had been evidently concerned enough about the stability of the seal to call for Konoha's premier sealing expert.

Jiraiya had examined it for about half-an-hour, poking at Naruto's exposed stomach and humming thoughtfully at times. Naruto had took it all stoically, but he had nonetheless felt relieved when Jiraiya had proclaimed that there was nothing to worry about- although the brief look on his face made Naruto think that the spiky white-haired man had wanted to add 'yet' to the end of his sentence.

With Kazuma dying rather unexpectedly, and his false Jinchuuriki falling five or so minutes later, the rest of the rebellion had been rather lacklustre. Konoha reinforcements had come quite from their positions quite quickly, and with the falling of the barrier, they had entered the city in force. Whatever puppetry or medical technique that had somehow allowed Kazuma to field an army of corpses had been no matched for seasoned shinobi, and they had been promptly put down with ease. There seemed to have been a time limit against the technique, because as the sun rose the next day all of the corpses had promptly exploded into heaps of dirt, ash and crumbling paper.

A few of the fake Jinchuuriki had caused some problems. The insane, young, crimson-cloaked children that had been roaming the city had fought to the death. They had not communicated in any way, and attacked with the savagery of a wild animal. There had been some injuries, and even a couple of fatalities- a Chunin Squad had blundered into a house with two of them, and by the time reinforcements had arrived to assist them, fifteen men and women were dead. Nevertheless, they too had fallen in the end- the other Leaf-Nin had picked up about them what Naruto had. For all their aggressiveness and power, the fake Jinchuuriki were ultimately uncoordinated and easy to confuse and mislead. They had been put down within the first hour, and their tiny, broken bodies had been collected for analysis.

Shinobi casualties had been low. Civilian casualties had been high.

Many had been slain in their homes, torn apart by creatures and constructs far more powerful than they were. They had never had a chance, the false Jinchuuriki were too mad to reason with, and the walking dead had shown no remorse as they had cut down all who stood within their path. The death toll was quite easily in the thousands.

Of course, as the Fire Lord had said to his advisors, nobody important had died, so it really didn't matter.

It didn't matter that the Fire Lord and the Hokage, the two people tasked with the protection of the citizens in the Land of Fire, had used them as bait. It didn't matter that the two of them had left them to die, a city full of men, women and children to distract and slow the enemy as they had advanced.

Naruto had taken one look at the Fire Lord and his quirky smile and that _stupid_ fan and had vowed_ never_ to underestimate the ruthlessness of the man. As eccentric as the man was- or at least appeared to be- there was a vicious streak within him, and although he was the newly favoured shinobi of the Fire Court, Sarutobi had warned him time and time again that the whims of the nobility were fickle and never to be trusted.

He had felt a surge of anger when he had heard the Fire Lord casually talking to his advisors by his bedside table, and he had clenched his fists underneath the blankets. Nothing had shown on his face as he shovelled the anger and disgust away- but he was briefly surprised when the sounds of chains did not disturb him as he did so. Whatever had happened that night, it had weakened or drained the 'pit'. It wasn't necessarily a nice feeling, more of something empty and hollow inside of him.

That void had been quickly filled with a vicious sense of satisfaction as Sarutobi had described the fate of the black-ops team that had crossed him all those times. A special team of highly-trained infiltrators- who that was Sarutobi was quite vague on- had set up observation posts all around the edge of the city, and they had located the enemy team observing the rebellion. When confronted and cornered, they had killed themselves with a powerful suicide technique, burned alive in a matter of seconds.

The downside was that they perhaps would never know who had sent them.

Perhaps examinations from Kazuma's body would bring something to light. It had been collected, as had two more bodies found on the outskirts of the city. Judging by their equipment and scrolls, they had been the ones responsible for the raising of the barrier techniques and the coordination of the walking dead. They had been killed with single, fatal blows- and all evidence and lack of apparent resistance indicated that the two shinobi had known their attacker.

Naruto knew who had been responsible.

Tobi, whoever he was, had ultimately been the one responsible for all of this. He didn't really understand why, but he had told Sarutobi everything the man in the orange mask had said. When it had come to Tobi's final message to the Third Hokage, Naruto had watched as the old man had visibly staggered back. The Hokage had looked stunned, even dazed, as he leaned on the table, his mouth parting in shock. His face had shown a myriad of emotions- despair, shock, anger- and a sudden clarity that had made the old man straighten up and press his lips thinly together, exhaling loudly.

Regardless of whom Tobi, was and however true his claim may nor may not have been, he had just made an enemy out of the Third Hokage. Very few awarded that status tended to survive for very long.

Naruto was interrupted by the sound of creaking doors. A boy, barely out of his teens dressed in fine white robes, poked his head out.

"Please enter, Uzumaki-sama," he said nervously, and then disappeared before Naruto could respond.

Naruto straightened as the attendants left him, bowing and murmuring. The two Guardians swung open the doors, their faces blank and their crimson sashes gleaming under the light, and they stood to the side as Naruto walked through. He had entered a large room. A red carpet had been laid from the door to the front of the room. Large polished-wood tables had been put to the side of the room, and a large crowd of men, women and children stood there. They wore the robes of the nobility, the men were rather portly, the women were thin and wore heavy-make up and the children were bright-eyed. They stared at him as he walked past, his footsteps echoing loudly in the silent room.

At the front of the room was a set of steps. At the top of the steps was a large table, and standing in front of that table were some of the most important people in the Land of Fire. On the left stood the Third Hokage, dressed in his ceremonial robes of red and white, and flanking him was Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu. On the right stood Akiko, surrounded by two of her ladies-in-waiting, and behind her stood half-a-dozen nobles. Naruto picked out Lord Shinji as one of them, the portly man nodding approvingly as Naruto approached them.

The Fire Lord stood at the head of the group. His fan was up, half of his face hidden by his fan. His one visible eye watched Naruto carefully, something lurking within its depths, and his body language was unreadable. He wore giant red robes that flowed to the floor, tied with a huge yellow sash that draped down to his knees, and a tall, rectangular head with the symbol of 'fire' adorned his head.

Naruto approached the Fire Lord and bowed deeply. He remained crouched down as the Fire Lord took a step towards. Then, the leader of the Land of Fire spoke, his voice loud and audible to all those in the room.

"Today we are here to celebrate the actions of a most wonderful shinobi," the Fire Lord began. He snapped his fan shut, the instrument disappearing in his sleeve, and he opened up his arms with a wide smile. "Oh yes, a most wonderful shinobi indeed. Uzumaki Naruto has served the Land of Fire well. He has fought against its enemies and protected its citizens, and oh my, what a wonderful job he has done indeed!"

With his head bowed, Naruto couldn't see anything apart from the Fire Lord's luxurious robe trims pooled against the Feudal Lord's feet. Nonetheless, he could hear the rustle of robes as the man shifted, and he could swear he could _feel _ the eyes of the man staring down at him.

"He has saved our nation against the perilous threat of Sky Country, single-handedly defeating the wicked leader of that villainous trash! He has saved this city from the treason of a man who should have been our protector!" He stopped, and a hand came down to rest on his blond locks.

Naruto resisted the urge to shudder.

"He has saved my daughter from the tyranny of a murderer," the Fire Lord continued quietly, and more sombrely. "He has saved my life. He has saved all of your lives. He has fought against the darkness to keep us safe. He has battled a demon, and foiled a plot on my own life. Uzumaki Naruto is a true protector of the realm."

There was a short silence. Then, somebody behind him started clapping. First one, and then two- and then a dozen, and then hundreds of clapping men, women and children echoed out in the large room. For all the applause they gave, not a single one made any other noise apart from that. The pressure on his head was removed as the Fire Lord lifted up his hand.

"Rise, Uzumaki Naruto!" He ordered.

Naruto straightened up and stood there, his eyes locked firmly a point of the wall behind the Fire Lord. The eyes of hundreds bore down on him and he did not like it. Nonetheless, it was his duty to withstand it, and so he did as he always did and obeyed.

"Naruto is a true shinobi. He is the epitome of the Will of Fire. He will protect the Land of Fire as long as he shall live!" the Fire Lord cried out.

A sly smile had crossed his face, and he looked distinctly pleased as the nobles clapped for Naruto again. Then, he raised his hands and the audience went quiet in an instant.

"For his actions here, and his impeccable service record of the last seven years, I am gifting Uzumaki Naruto with an adage," the Fire Lord continued. He swelled up, patting Naruto on the head almost as if the blond shinobi was a dog. "His friends call him the Right Hand of God. His enemies call him nothing, for they are all dead! Oh ho ho ho!"

He laughed, and many of the other nobles chuckled politely.

"However, for those foolish enough to challenge the Land of Fire again, they will first have to come through our protectors!" the Fire Lord boomed out. He flung an arm out, gesturing towards Naruto- and almost hitting the shinobi in the face. "Standing at the front of our protectors will be this shinobi, Uzumaki Naruto, the Right Hand of God and the Demonsbane!"

The nobles burst out into applause as the Fire Lord plashed a sash around his chest. It was much like the sash of the Twelve Guardians, however it was gold and a terrible demon had been stitched upon it with crimson silk. A shinobi stood above it, a hand frozen in a seal, a permanent battle between man and demon depicted on the award.

Through all of this, Naruto was smiling, not because of the award but because the irony was really not lost on him at all.

* * *

><p>There was a feast. The tables were brought to the centre of the room and servants and attendants streamed out of the kitchens with platters and plates laden with rich foods, exotic spices and goblets and pitchers of the finest wines. Naruto sat on the right of the Fire Lord, while the Third Hokage sat on the left, and the two powerful men chatted to each other over their glasses of wine. The Fire Lord's face was red as he finished his third cup, saying something to Sarutobi, who merely responded quietly and smiled faintly as the Fire Lord erupted into a fit of laughter, clapping the most powerful shinobi in the Land of Fire on the back.<p>

On Naruto's right sat Akiko, the Fire Lord's daughter. She was dressed in her finest clothes, silks and cloth draped in such a way that revealed tantalising flashes of thigh and shoulder as she moved. It shimmered around her, sparkling underneath the light as if it was made from blue diamonds, and her hair flowed down her back, twisted in an elaborate braid. She looked absolutely beautiful and Naruto would have loved to have talked to her, but Lord Shinji sat on her other side and was engaging her rather enthusiastically. The Fire Princess responded politely, laughing demurely and blushing at the most appropriate times as a man three times her age and six times her weight drank from his goblet. The more wine he consumed, the more he seemed to leer at her.

From what Naruto understood, an important Justice in the Fire Court had been found dead in the ruins of the city. Lord Kinjo had been struck down by his enemies after refusing Konoha's protection, tortured and beaten, but he had remained a patriot to the very end- or so the official story went. Lord Shinji was a popular option to replace the man, and Naruto could only feel a flash of indignation at the thought of what incentives the Fire Lord would offer.

Perhaps even the hand of his daughter.

There were plenty of other girls who would be eager to take her place, Naruto noted dryly. He wasn't an expert on social relationships and girls and all that stuff, but even he, oblivious as he may be, could tell that he was receiving quite a lot of attention. Several of the ladies of the Fire Court, some his age, many a great deal older, threw him looks. Many of those looks were coy, suggestive smiles, twirling skirts and swaying hair. Others were more speculative, as if the matriarchs of the great noble families were looking at him wondering just which daughter they would throw at him.

Now that he was the Fire Lord's favourite, he was very popular.

Naruto could only smile thinly and look away. This fake level of adoration, the false smiles and the blatant praise and hero-worship, it was sickening in a way. Some part of him definitely liked it, but another part- the shinobi part- could only see all of it as a threat. That was probably the smart part, Naruto decided.

Somebody touched his hand. Naruto jerked and looked up. The dark eyes of Akiko met his and she smiled. As a troupe of entertainers entered the room and began playing music, and nobles began to rise and pair off, the two of them rose. Naruto took the Fire Princesses hand and they entered the crowd. Then, Naruto used a near-perfect _Body Flicker_ to take both him and Akiko out of the room. The last thing he saw was the blatant disapproval of the Twelve Guardians and the Third Hokage, both watching him.

* * *

><p>Sometime later, Naruto and Akiko broke apart from their latest kiss. The branches, twigs and leaves of plants around them dug into his back, but the blond boy found that he really didn't care. His heart was pounding, something heavy pushed against the pit of his stomach and his senses were heightened. Akiko's presence filled him, her smell, her taste, the sound of her voice, and the feel of her hair. Naruto licked his lips, feeling a surge of affection for the girl as she smiled at him, tenderly brushing his hair out of his eyes.<p>

There was a member of the Twelve Guardians nearby, but Naruto honestly didn't care. Akiko's warm body was pressed against him, his fumbling hands roamed her back and she shuddered, mewling into his ear, her soft hair tickling his face. He kissed her again and when they broke apart, Akiko giggled and laid her head down on his shoulder.

The ground around the palace gardens was still cratered. Big chunks of the wall still littered the grounds and the wall itself had been shored up temporarily. Large swathes of grass and plants had been burned in the blaze, and some of the blackened husks remained. Other sections of the garden were just in tatters, resembling the rocky fields of the Land of Earth rather than the fertile plains of the Land of Fire. The Fire Princess was looking up, staring at the scaffolding that covered the top of the Fire Palace. The eternal flame burned once more, this time through the use of natural gas rather than an elaborate seal-matrix, and repairs had already begun on the spire.

"It must have been so terrifying," she murmured into his shoulder. She stroked his hair, nestling deeper into him, and turned her head to stare up at him with her lovely eyes. "What a terrible battle it must have been. You were so brave."

Naruto didn't really know what to say to that. He settled with a small shrug, and Akiko giggled.

"You're so tough," she cooed, flicking him on the nose. Naruto flinched and she outright laughed. Then, seeing his wounded expression, she leaned up for another kiss. "Don't worry. I like that about you."

Naruto couldn't help the smile that crossed his face, and he stroked her hair. Akiko was quiet for a little while longer, content to just lay there as Naruto played with her hair.

"That woman…" she trailed off, sounding a touch nervous. "The one that pretended to be Shizu… what happened to her?"

Naruto paused in his ministrations. "I fought her," he answered quietly.

"Did you kill her?" Akiko asked. She gazed up at him, and there was nothing but sincerity on her face. At Naruto's blank expression, she let out a shuddering breath. "Oh…" she trailed off.

She lowered her hands to her lap and wriggled out of Naruto's grip. With her head bowed, Naruto was suddenly fearful that he had offended her. Then, her hands clenched, bunching up the material on her thighs, and she looked back up at him. There was a fleeting look on her face, something vicious and dangerous, and Naruto was abruptly reminded who her father was.

"Good," she whispered darkly. "I hope she suffered, the…the…the _bitch_." Then her look faded into sorrow. "I liked Shizu…" she trailed off in a quitter, sadder voice.

Naruto embraced her and they kissed again.

"Did you really fight a demon?" Akiko asked between kisses. "A real demon?"

Naruto nodded and pointed to the spire. "It did that," he murmured huskily.

Or did he do that? His hormone-fogged mind couldn't remember at the moment. If a genin decided to assassinate him at the moment, he probably would have been an easy target, yet Akiko's lips came crashing down on his even hungrier than before and he really didn't care.

"You're so strong, Naruto," Akiko gasped as she came up for a breath. Her hand was tangled in his hair, tugging almost painfully at it, and she had placed his hand on her lower back. "You're so strong!"

Naruto thought about the chains and the darkness and the eyes of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox.

"Not really," he murmured.

He drew back and flopped onto his back. Akiko joined him, and they stared up at the stars.

"When do you leave?" Akiko asked softly as she curled up around him.

It must have been a ridiculous sight, a teenage girl nearly out of her teens wrapping her body around a boy just entering his.

"Tomorrow," Naruto responded lazily. He took a deep breath, so very tempted just to lie there and sleep with this warm girl beside him. "Before the sun comes up."

"Will I see you again?" Akiko asked, sounding even softer than before.

Her voice wavered a bit and Naruto turned his head to gaze at her.

"Of course," Naruto assured her quickly. "You can't get rid of me that easily."

Akiko looked happy. "Maybe I'll request you for a mission," she teased with a giggle. "You can help me shop and entertain me and my friends. I'm sure you know lots of tricks."

Naruto smiled faintly. "My team only does special kinds of missions," he responded.

"Like what?"

"Dangerous stuff," Naruto answered. "Secret stuff I can't tell you about."

Naruto felt rather proud of saying that, and he appreciated the look of amazement and awe he received from Akiko. Her eyes were wide, her pupils dilated, and she breathed in, her chest heaving dangerously close. Naruto smiled, and she smiled back rather wickedly, pulling him down and drowning him in another kiss.

* * *

><p>Naruto and Sarutobi departed from the Capital City early in the morning, before the sun had even risen. They were accompanied by a squad of Jonin Guard, more of a formality than anything else given the large numbers of shinobi present in the region. They returned to Konoha in good time, and entered the Village gates as the sun was beginning to rise. Normally, only the early risers would be up by now, tending to the bakeries and milk deliveries, but as the group of shinobi entered the Village, they were greeted with a large crowd.<p>

Men and women, shinobi and civilian, lined the streets as the group walked past on foot. The Third Hokage had his hat on, his eyes almost disappearing underneath the hem of it, and Naruto walked on his right. As they walked past, the crowds cheered and clapped, hollering and yelling praise and acclaim. Many of the shinobi bowed their heads respectfully, and Naruto was surprised to see that it was at him!

Then, the Third Hokage abruptly pulled ahead, leaving Naruto behind- and the crowds continued to clap and cheer. His eyes were wide and his heart was racing, an unbidden smile crossing his face when he realised that they were all here to see _him_. Not the Hokage- him!

He stood straighter, pleased at their acknowledgement, proud to be recognised by his Village. When compared to the Nobles of the Fire Court, this was much more honest and sincere, and Naruto felt like he was six again as he beamed in happiness.

His good mood didn't end there as he arrived at the Hokage's Office. The Third Hokage sat behind his desk, while the rest of Team Sigma stood around it. As he entered, they all came to attention and bowed their heads. Naruto stopped, staring as they raised up. Yuuka waved at him, grinning brightly, and Daichi smiled. Kage gave a slight, but meaningful, nod, and Komachi bowed her head respectfully, and Towa gave him a thumbs up. Sasuke stood there and rolled his eyes, huffing and looking away, but there was a slight smile on his face.

The Third Hokage cleared his throat. "We have no time for any more slacking off, Naruto," he reprimanded rather lightly. "You have been officially reinstated as Team Sigma's Captain. The Land of Fire is in a mess right now, and we need every shinobi on the roster."

He paused, and then the ends of his lips rose. Approval. Praise. Acknowledgement.

"Get to work, Naruto," Sarutobi snapped a second later, the moment gone but not forgotten.

Naruto saluted, placing the mask on his face.

He had the respect of the Village.

He had the acknowledgement of the Feudal Court.

He had his team back.

Things were looking good.


	43. The Wall

**A/N: I had lots of awesome feedback from DLP on this, so thanks to them. I've got the next couple done, just proof-reading and editing and stuff, so expect them in the next couple of days. Hopefully I'll get chapters 46-48 done by next weekend. Reviews are always appreciated.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Forty-Three<strong>

**The Wall**

* * *

><p>The brief- yet memorable- civil war of the Land of Fire had some serious local and international repercussions. Although political struggles, and even outright violence, weren't unknown, it had been a long time since the very heart of the Land of Fire had been struck. Not since the First Great War had Kanoshi, the capital, had been witness to shinobi-based combat- and never had the Palace been directly attacked. To many in the international community, it signified weakness. The tense relationship between the Fire Court, the populace and the Village Hidden in Leaves had not gone unnoticed, and the eyes of the world had been watching and judging.<p>

Yet, although Kanoshi had been attacked for the first time in decades, and the relationship between the Fire Court and its Hidden Village had deteriorated to its lowest point since Konoha's inception, the outcome of the attempted coup was a contradiction.

To the world, Konoha and the Land of Fire _must _be weak for such an event to happen.

Yet, Konoha and the Land of Fire _must_ also be strong for such a victory to happen.

Much of what had happened was unknown, but it was generally agreed that the perpetrators of the civil war had attacked the Capital City with an army, and spearheading that army was a _Jinchuuriki_. Konoha's Jinchuuriki had been deployed to counter the enemy, and had proven to be the stronger. The Third Hokage had saved the Fire Lord's life from an assassination attempt, and an entire division of Leaf-Nin had arrived just in time to mop things up. Not much more was known other than that.

The only other really conclusive piece of information was that Konoha's Jinchuuriki, Uzumaki Naruto, was rapidly growing into his power. From his first emergence as one of Konoha's significant powers during the Sky Country Blitz more than eight months ago, Uzumaki Naruto had been at the forefront of every significant mission- and his presence had more often than not led to victory. In less than a year, a seemingly mediocre _B-rank _shinobi had risen up in the ranks, fighting and surviving confrontations against _S-ranked_ opponents, destroying fortresses and invading armies, and defeating Jinchuuriki in singlehanded combat. Uzumaki Naruto had risen to an A-rank status, his deeds and reputation were beginning to grow, and his rise to fame was absolutely stunning.

How long would it take such a shinobi to reach the coveted position of _S-rank_?

Naruto was not only being recognised by foreign powers. Inside Konoha, most shinobi knew of him and his deeds. For the younger of them, Naruto was somewhat of an inspiration. He was close to their age, yet the distance between them was near-insurmountable. He was somebody to look up to and idolise. For the older generation, Naruto was one to look at with nostalgia and anticipation. Here was another shinobi destined for legendary status, one like the revered few before him who would rise up and, one day, lead them to victory like those before him- and, in time, make the ultimate sacrifice for the good of the Village.

Senju Tobiramu. Sakumo Hatake. Namikaze Minato.

One day, many said, Uzumaki Naruto's name would be on that list.

His name was now well-known throughout the Land of Fire. All of the Fire Court knew of his new position as the Fire Lord's favourite, and his newly-gained moniker '_Demonsbane'_ had spread. For Konoha, it was a blessing, for the minor nobility swarmed to the Village vying for the attention of the Fire Lord's new favourite- all in the slightest chance that they could use and exploit this new relationship.

For Naruto, it was an annoyance.

In the last two months, he and his team had been on twenty-three missions. Each involved a trivial task unsuited for a Jonin. Most could have been easily classed as a D-rank mission, suitable for a Genin Squad, not a battle-ready ANBU Squad. Sure, Team Sigma was able to complete the missions ten times faster and more efficiently than a Genin Team, but it was honestly beneath them. They were Team Sigma, the Hokage's personal squad. They were supposed to go on missions vital to the Village security, not babysit the seven year old of a noble or deliver a parcel to a minor noble's estate.

Nonetheless, the Hokage was more than happy to exploit Naruto's new status for his own ends. The young ANBU Captain was certain that it was just another way to torment him, although the revenue coming in from the excessive fees the Village was charging for the jinchuuriki's services was probably a factor as well.

Either way, Team Sigma was delegated to the most menial of tasks,

Between the tedious missions, they trained.

* * *

><p>Naruto ducked and pivoted on his feet, parrying away several shuriken with his kunai while simultaneously avoiding the swipe of the glowing crimson blade. The soil beneath his feet was damp with the recent rains and his feet sagged slightly as he backpedalled, on the defensive. In front of him, Towa, wielding a glowing crimson short sword that had formed in his hands, continued on with his relentless attack. The older ANBU agent was a blur, the blade striking for Naruto again and again and again in an attempt to stop the blond from utilising any hand-seals.<p>

Above them both, Yuuka flittered between the trees, providing long range support by peppering kunai and shuriken at him. There was a flicker of movement from one tree to the next, and Naruto tracked it even as he dodged, ducked and weaved around all of Towa's strikes. Yuuka reappeared, her long blonde hair fluttering in the breeze as she held her hand in a single hand-seal. Even as Naruto jumped back from Towa, the _genjutsu_ she had prepared ensnared him and his vision grew blurry. Bright flashes of light and hazy swirls appeared in his vision. At the same time, a cacophony of blaring shrieks and hair-splitting screeches struck his ears, and although they were merely a chakra-transmitted neural impulse, it was enough to make him stagger.

That was what the third of the attackers had been waiting for and Uchiha Sasuke, his crimson eyes swirling, lunged forward from his ambush position. He clutched a spool of wire in one hand and a kunai in the other, a tag fluttering off at the end. Towa leapt forward at the same time, the crimson sword bursting into a shower of sparks. Dark, inky seals grew on his arm as he formed another of the infinite weapons he could create, and a crimson, stubby baton appeared in his hand. He disappeared in a flicker of movement, then reappeared on Naruto's right, his baton blurring towards his head. Sasuke attacked from the left, the wire in his hand coiled and ready to spring around him. Yuuka stayed in the trees, focussing her genjutsu on him with a frightening intensity.

It was a well-coordinated and effective strategy meant to disable and capture an uncooperative target.

In this case, however, the target refused to go along with it. With a single flare of his chakra, Naruto broke the genjutsu and felt a mild sense of relief as disorientating stimuli was removed from his senses. He sidestepped, parrying away the baton with his kunai. The metal scraped against the crimson power and sparks flew through the air. Naruto channelled a quick burst of chakra into his other hand and swiped at the sparks, and a gust of wind shot them at Sasuke, who instinctively covered up his eyes. In the split second that it had taken the Uchiha to do that, Naruto weaved past another one of Towa's swipes and delivered a snap-kick to Sasuke's jaw.

The other boy reeled backwards with a pained grunt, even as Naruto blocked a blow from Towa on one of his forearm guards. The searing crimson light scraped against the metal of his armguard, creating a shower of sparks, but it held up against the attack, leaving Naruto to lean forward with the kunai in his hand. He stabbed at Towa, and the other man hastily backed away from the quick, sudden movement, and then disappeared in a flicker of movement as Naruto's cheeks bulged. A huge, fiery ball of yellow flame spewed forward, enveloping the other half of the clearing with chakra-induced flame. The fires wouldn't last long- Naruto hadn't pumped in a lot of chakra to the technique- but the smokescreen it created would shield him from Yuuka's current attacks, forcing her to switch positions if she wanted to be effective.

True enough, as Sasuke and Towa righted themselves, there was another flicker of movement amongst the trees. Yuuka had shifted from one side of the clearing to the other, perched on one of the lower tree branches with her hands twisted into a seal. Before she could produce a technique, however, Naruto made a seal of his own.

_Detonate!_

The teenage girl let out a startled and ungainly squawk as the tree she was standing on rocked and swayed. Explosive tags hidden over the tree, held there by wire and kunai, detonated. They were small, producing mostly sound and smoke, but it staggered Yuuka's guard, giving Naruto an opportunity to act. He raced for the tree, throwing a series of smoke bombs down on the ground as he did so. Huge, white plumes of smoke arose all around him, and the tree in front of him disappeared underneath the haze, but Naruto knew where he was going. Sasuke and Towa, lost within the smoke, would reflexively hesitate, giving Naruto the time he needed.

He sprinted through the fog and darted up the tree in an instant, reaching Yuuka just as she had righted herself. She lashed out at him with a kick, but he parried it away with his armguard and moved in close. She back-pedalled, her eyes wide, and managed to dodge the first and second blow, but the third knocked her off of the branch. She fell with a grunt, but twisted herself in the air, grabbed a branch, and used her momentum to swing away.

Naruto was right behind her, avoiding her hasty shuriken throws. He reached into one of his pouches as he ran and hurled a series of kunai at her. The weapons missed, striking the trees around them with a dull thump. Yuuka landed on a branch and twisted on her feet to face him. Jumping backwards, she made three hand-seals and thrust her hands at him. Naruto broke through the genjutsu in an instant, but the second one made him stumble for a split-second as his world went fuzzy and full of static. An instant later, he had recovered, but Yuuka had escaped him.

Naruto drew his head back, made a hand-seal, and spat out a huge globe of flames. They roared towards her, enveloping the tree branches around her, leaving the Yamanaka very little room to escape- but then three kunai went whizzing past her. Two thudded in the ground in front of her, and one embedded itself in the branch above her. Seal tags fluttered at either end, and from the rapidly clearing smoke beneath them Sasuke shouted something.

A thin, flimsy-looking azure barrier sprung into existence between each tag, creating a triangular shield that shielded Yuuka completely. The huge ball of flame struck the barrier and it flared with a bright blue light, holding of the flames even as the trees on the branches around them caught alight. Naruto twitched in annoyance as the barrier technique successfully defended the Yamanaka, but seized the opportunity to act. He disappeared in a _Body Flicker_ and reappeared in the clearing.

_Water Technique: Rising Water Wave!_

Water-elemental chakra burst from the _tenketsu_ in his throat, reacting with his internal bodily fluids, and his chest bulged with a sudden expansion of liquid. Naruto reared back and spat out a seemingly never-ending river of murky water. The raging river of water washed over the clearing, and the fires hissed and spat as they were extinguished in an instant. Towa, the main target of the technique, slammed his hands together and placed them on the ground. A moderately large wall of stone rose before him, and the water struck it and was deflected, directed to either sides of it. Nonetheless, it had kept the man busy for a few moments, and Naruto charged at the suddenly undefended Sasuke.

Sasuke, his sharingan whirling, moved to engage him. He settled in a defensive stance, watching Naruto intently as the blond boy approached. Something flickered in the air and Naruto twisted awkwardly, avoiding a set of wire that would have tangled him up- but then a _second_ set came from left, and he stumbled as his arms were tangled together. Sasuke, the glint of victory in his eyes, charged and kicked him, delivering a powerful blow to his chest. Naruto doubled over, gasping- and then exploded in a puff of smoke.

The wires fell, loose and slack- and then snapped right back up, pulling back towards Sasuke by a _third_ wire coming from behind the Uchiha. Sasuke looked stunned even as he tried to escape, but they wrapped around him and pinned him tight to the ground, restraining his arms and his legs. A second later, Naruto appeared over him and slammed his elbow in his stomach. Sasuke grunted, his eyes bulging, and a second later, he rolled over and emptied his stomach.

The rest of the fight didn't take long. Less than a minute later, Yuuka was down, and a minute and a half later, Towa too shared the fate of his teammates, unable to keep up with Naruto's superior reflexes, speed and skill. Naruto trussed up the older, groaning man, panting with mild exertion. Sweat beaded down on his brow and the sun beamed down on him as the clearing went eerily quiet.

"Time!" Daichi called out. The Hyuuga stood at the top of the tree in the clearing, holding a watch and wearing a smile. "Two minutes, seventeen seconds. New record, boss!"

"Hah!" Komachi crowed from next to him. She jumped down, landing effortlessly on the clearing, and sauntered up to the trussed up and tied down Towa. She gave him a none-too-gentle kick, to which he swore futilely at her. "You lose. 'Last three minutes' my arse. More like three seconds."

"Bite me," Towa groaned. "I think Naruto broke one of my ribs."

"Fuck that," Sasuke uncharacteristically swore in a weak voice. His face was pale, flecks of vomit stick clinging to his lips and chin. "I think Naruto just broke my spleen."

"Um… could somebody untie me?" Yuuka's voice was muffled, her face planted right in the muddy ground. "This is really disgusting…"

Naruto let out a deep breath, stretching his arms. He was all warmed up now. He smiled as his team bickered around him, the others being helped up. Most of the team had come to join him in the clearing, but Kage remained in the trees. He stared down at his Captain expressionlessly, but there was an almost anticipatory air around him. Naruto's smile widened, his canines exposed, and Kage's fingers twitched towards the dull-black machete strapped to his back.

The older Jonin was really the only one on his team that could provide a challenge in close-range combat. None of the others could match Naruto's speed- he was actually faster than Kage as well. The other operative, however, could match Naruto and stop the Jinchuuriki from utilising a lot of his techniques. Kage's style and form was simple, brutal and effective- short, sharp movements that emphasised stabs focused on the eight vital areas. This was backed up with good reflexes, decent speed, and over fifteen years of experience. Naruto got the impression that the twenty-something year old man quite enjoyed their spars.

He was all ready to begin another round of training when the screech of the bird cut through is thoughts. Frowning, he turned his head and watched as a proud hawk with beautiful plumage soared through the sky. Mentally checking the roster, Naruto shook his head, suddenly feeling weary.

"We have another mission," he muttered sourly.

The mood of the team abruptly changed. Yuuka groaned, Daichi shook his head, and Sasuke closed his eyes. Even Kage looked distinctly annoyed- his eyebrow had raised a quarter of an inch.

"I know, I know," Naruto sighed, holding up his hands in an effort to placate them. "Just think of the money, guys."

"Money which we don't get," Towa muttered sourly.

"It's for the good of the Village," Komachi recited dully.

"Couldn't we, you know, go on a suicide mission or something?" Yuuka moaned. She ran a hand through her blonde hair. "We'd be serving the Village, _and _it would be more interesting than this."

"Who knows? Maybe the old man might have something interesting for us this time?" Naruto mused.

* * *

><p>"I have something interesting for you this time," the Third Hokage remarked cheerfully.<p>

Team Sigma stood before the Hokage's desk, decked in the robes and masks of their profession. At the head of the small group, Naruto resisted the urge to shout _'_bullshit' even as his eye twitched behind his mask. The old man's genial smile was _too_ happy, and the overexcited man practically bouncing next to him, seemed to contradict that statement.

"This is Eiji Suzumaki," Sarutobi introduced politely. He lifted a hand and gestured to Team Sigma. "Eiji, my friend, these are my personal shinobi. I trust that you have heard of my personal aide, Uzumaki Naruto?"

"Of course, Hiruzen, of course!" the man responded excitedly.

He was young man, wearing the robes of the Fire Court and sporting a head spiky brown hair. He looked upon the ANBU squad eagerly, his eyes particularly drawn to Naruto. The young blond ANBU rolled his eyes behind his mask even as he nodded respectfully.

"What are your orders, Hokage-sama?" he asked quietly.

Sarutobi gave a faint smile. "Team Sigma, you are tasked with the protection of Lord Eiji back to his residence." He shifted some papers on his desk. "This is an A-rank mission. Lord Eiji is a great friend of Konoha's, and _must_ be protected," he continued.

At his side, Lord Eiji straightened, looking chuffed at the Hokage's words. Naruto took in the words, bowing his head. He resisted the urge to sigh. Yet another mission to make a political statement- how fun.

* * *

><p>The small group departed from Konoha for their five day mission soon after. They travelled south-east, taking the main road through Otafuku Gai and continuing south from there, moving past the Land of Waves and heading towards the Land of Tea border. However, instead of heading west towards the border, they would instead go east towards The Wall- the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Water's only outpost on the main continent of the Elemental Countries.<p>

Won from the Land of Fire in the First Great Shinobi War and stubbornly held ever since, more battles had been fought between Konoha and Kirigakure in that narrow strip of land than anywhere else in the world. The constant battles between the two great villages had turned fertile plains and rolling hills of green into a muddy wasteland littered with craters and shrouded in fog.

In every Great War, Konoha had tried and failed to retake the land, more out of principle than for any strategic reason. In the Second War, an entire division of Leaf-Nin led by Nara Retsu forced their way through Kirigakure's lines in an attempt to reconquer the land. The enemy lines had crumbled easily- _too easily,_ and the Leaf-Nin had advanced right up to the coast. By the time Retsu had determined that it was a trap, it was too late. An S-rank shinobi, the leader of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, and his six subordinates, counterattacked. In three hours, the bay was drenched with the blood and bodies of the three-quarters of a division- and not a single Swordsman had fallen.

The bay would always be referred to as The Bloody Cove.

The incident was referred to as '_Retsu's Folly'_, and it became a staple case study for any enterprising commander on exactly what _not_ to do when encroaching on enemy territory. Retsu had overextended, deployed her forces with limited intelligence on enemy forces and composition, and failed to protect her supply lines. In many ways, it was fortunate that she died during the ambush.

Third Hokage's retaliation two days later, backed by the White Fang and some of his most trusted Jonin, showed Kirigakure just how much Sarutobi 'appreciated' the ambush. The enemy encampment was levelled, and several bays and inlets were formed as a result of the battle that took place. The second Leaf-Nin invasion was much more thorough and destructive than the first, and twelve hours later, Konoha had retaken the cape and Sarutobi had claimed his fifth S-class kill, with only two survivors fleeing back to the Land of Water with the blades of the fallen.

Unfortunately, the Third Hokage was forced to retreat by Kirigakure's counter-offensive, where the Second Mizukage deployed his Jinchuuriki and drove away the encroaching Leaf-Nin. With devastating losses taking place in the Land of Rain, and a renewed offensive from Kumo driving into the Land of Fire, Sarutobi was never able to retake the land.

These days, the Bloody Cove was recognised as Land of Water territory. Konoha had initially built a small encampment during the last days of the Second War, circling much of the inlet in an attempt to contain and repel any further attack. It had been built up steadily over the years, and now a wall as large as Konoha's stretched down sixty-kilometres, manned by an entire division of shinobi. Over a thousand Leaf-Nin rotated through the Wall at any one time, protecting the only border of the Great Village's that lacked a buffer state.

It had once been a centre of trade between the Land of Fire and the Land of Water, delivering carts and shiploads of goods, from shoals of brightly coloured fish meat, barrels of whale blubber, luminous pearls, gleaming silver coral, to trinkets and goods acquired from the far side of the planet, where only the Land of Water had ever trod. These days, since the inception of the civil war, only a few merchants trickled in over the months, each under heavy guard by the Mizukage's personal elite. Business was conducted in near-silence, Mizukage's guards there more to keep their charges from talking rather than to protect them.

The Hub, the largest city built by the wall, had fallen into recession since the Civil War. The reduced trade had severely reduced the flow of money coming in and out of the city. Nonetheless, when Naruto, the rest of Team Sigma and Lord Eiji had arrived at the city five days later, it was still bustling with people coming and going about their business. With a thousand shinobi dedicated to protecting the region for over forty years, a vibrant economy had sprung up around them. Bars, restaurants, casinos, theatres, brothels and other entertainment industries continued to do well as Leaf-Nin rotated in and out of the city. An off-duty shinobi had needs, and the Hub was more than willing to meet them.

Lord Eiji strolled into his city, two dozen servants and baggage holders following. Team Sigma had taken point around the small convoy, their black cloaks flapping in the cool wind. The sounds of the city washed over them as they made their way through the largest road of the city. Crowds of off-duty shinobi parted before them, many of them staggering and laughing with their friends as they moved from one establishment to the other. Many of them cast curious eyes over the group, but although they eyed the ANBU speculatively, ultimately it wasn't that unusual of an occurrence, and they passed through with little effort.

Lord Eiji turned to Naruto, an eager look on his face. The blond ANBU Captain had been avoiding the noble for most of the journey, volunteering to take point and lead the sentry patrols around the convoy.

"Many thanks for your company, Naruto!" he said cheerfully. He gestured at the manor behind him, a wide smile on his face. "Please, it would be my honour if you were to dine with me tonight. I have the finest chefs in the region- I'm sure we can find something to suit your tastes!"

"That's very kind," Naruto said dryly, although Eiji didn't seem to pick up on it. "Unfortunately, I have a secondary mission to run for the Hokage." He held out his hand, wincing behind his mask as Lord Eiji shook it excitedly. "You were an excellent client, Lord Eiji, and Konoha's Mission Department will receive a great review from our squad."

"Ah, excellent, excellent," Lord Eiji exclaimed, beaming. He rubbed his hands together. "Perhaps we'll work together in the future, yes?"

"Perhaps," Naruto said politely. He bowed his head. "Excuse us, Lord Eiji. Enjoy your dinner."

"A-Ah, yes! Thank you!"

Lord Eiji couldn't hide his disappointment as Naruto turned, motioning for his squad to follow him. They left the Lord in front of his residence, their mission complete. As soon as they were out of range, Yuuka burst out laughing. She bent over, clutching her knees and extracting some startled glances from nearby residents.

"H-He had such a man-crush on you!" she squealed. "So funny!"

Towa snorted, and then grunted as Komachi elbowed him in the stomach. Daichi was chuckling, and even Sasuke snorted in amusement.

"It's his pretty blond hair," the Uchiha deadpanned. "It drives the men wild."

"Ha," Naruto exclaimed sarcastically. "Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! Very funny." He took off his mask, making a face at them. "Just for that, Sasuke, you're with me. The rest of you can shut your mouths and piss off. You've got the night off. Be back at the gates by sunrise. Dimissed."

Kage and Komachi expertly saluted, while Daichi and Towa exchanged a high-five. There were a series of puffs of smoke as the ANBU operatives placed a finger on their tattoos, storing away their uniform and exchanging it for a standard flak vest. Yuuka was still giggling, and Naruto clenched his fists in annoyance. Luckily, teen was cut off by Kage, who grabbed her by the back of the cloak and started dragging her away.

"W-what… no… hang on, you jerk…ow!" Yuuka's voice faded off into the distance.

"As for you, you little smart-arse, follow me," Naruto grumbled.

Sasuke fell in line. "Where are we going?" he asked quietly.

Naruto smiled thinly. "We're going past The Wall."

* * *

><p>Although The Wall guarded the region from the Land of Water, it wasn't completely accurate to say that the wall represented the actual border. The border, having been agreed on at the end of the Third War after Konoha had once again failed to take the Bloody Cove, lay twenty kilometres past it. As such, Konoha had a series of observation posts scattered throughout the war-torn region, and Naruto had a message for one of those posts from the Hokage.<p>

Before they could leave, however, Naruto and Sasuke had to sign out. They approached the Shinobi Headquarters and filled in the required paperwork. As they were given the exit permits and map of this week's defences, Naruto spotted the Commander of the Watch looking at them from his office. Nara Naoto, the grandson of Nara Retsu, had risen through the ranks, determined to take responsibility for his grandmother's folly.

It was cold and damp outside the walls. Naruto and Sasuke moved away from the only road leading towards the Bloody Cove and into the mist surrounding it. Markers had been placed on the ground, each displaying a symbol and a colour. Without the map that Naruto and Sasuke had memorised, it would have been easy to stray from the path and run into the nests of traps and primed explosive tags that had been buried all around them.

It was a short journey, taken longer by the care that they needed to move through the traps, but eventually they moved through the small valley and out of the mist. The sky was darkening, the sun disappearing behind the horizon, but there was still enough light to see their surroundings. They were at the bottom of what once had been a large hill. It was full of craters, cracks and crevices, and one side of the hill was simply missing. The ground around them was muddied and dead, the aftermath of the battle between Sarutobi Hiruzen and the Three-Tailed Jinchuuriki.

Outpost Sierra had been built on the cratered remains of that hill. It was a small base, made up of rows of tents and small watch towers. Naruto and Sasuke slowed as they approached the outpost, showing their hands as they were confronted by two Jonin. Given the lack of surprise on their faces, Naruto assumed that they had been spotted long before they had come close to the outpost.

"Identify," the lead Jonin demanded sternly. He was a tall, large man with thick arms and a bald head. He narrowed his eyes at the two of them.

Naruto handed over the exit permit to the other Jonin, who took it and inspected it carefully. She nodded, and the lead Jonin surveyed them carefully.

"Dog, blue, six, bird, town," the Jonin recited.

"Three," Naruto replied instantly. He took a breath. "Desk, lamp, five and nine."

The guards relaxed and the big, burly Jonin gave them a gruff nod.

"We have a message for the base commander," Naruto told them. He reached into his robes and pulled out a scroll, the Hokage's seal clearly displayed. "Where might we find him?"

The lead Jonin jerked his head back towards the largest tent. "He's in there," he said gruffly. "Be quick. A Kiri cargo ship pulled into port earlier today. Runners might be coming. Rookies like you don't want to see that."

Naruto exchanged a glance with Sasuke. The Uchiha gave a slight shrug. Together, they walked into the camp and approached the large tent. At least a platoon of shinobi was stationed at the camp, many sitting around small camp-fires. There was soft chatter and mutterings between them, but they were generally a stoic and cheerless bunch. Many of them eyed Naruto and Sasuke stonily, although a few looked vaguely sympathetic.

The only other thing of note was a large chain-linked fence on the other side of the camp. Beyond it was a dried lake bed, filled with crumbling stones and scattered with white dust. Past the plain were larger hills and the small twisted, gnarled trees, the first sign of nature that Naruto had seen here. The curious thing, though, was the thick yellow line that had been painted on the ground just beyond the fence, stretching all the way across the mouth of the dried lake bed.

Then they were in the tent. Lanterns had been hung up from the rails, casting a yellow glow around the space, and a collapsible office desk had been set up in the corner. Behind it sat a grey-haired man. He eyed them stonily as they entered, his fingers tapping on the handle of a cane that lay across his desk.

"I have a missive from the Hokage," Naruto said quietly.

The commander nodded and Naruto passed him the message. The older man bit on his finger, producing a drop of blood, and smeared it on the seal. It glowed for a second and safety dispelled at the resonance of the commander's chakra, and grizzled man opened it up to read. It only took a few moments, and his eyes narrowed up at Naruto and Sasuke once he was done.

"Thank you, shinobi," he said in a raspy, guttural voice.

He stood up, slightly wincing as went for the cane, and as he moved into better light Naruto could see the thick scar tissue that covered his left cheek and his lower jaw. There was a rough, jagged and angry-looking scar around his throat, and Naruto abruptly realised that somebody, somewhere, had tried to slit this man's throat.

"I've been ordered to-"

The commander was cut off from the sudden commotion from outside. People were moving quickly, and a bell started to ring. Somebody rushed into the tent, pulling past the flap and barging in.

"Sir!" the panting Chunin gasped. "We have runners!"

The Commander grimaced and jerked his head, indicating to Naruto and Sasuke to follow him. They left the tent and out into the darkened night. Two dozen shinobi had moved into positions around the fence, and as they passed one of the tents, Naruto saw a medical team prepping for action. The commander strode forward quickly, despite his limp, and moved to the fence. The large, bald Jonin moved to stand next him, arms folded.

"Flares and lights," the Commander muttered.

"Flares and lights!" the bald Jonin shouted, his voice booming out across the camp. "Light it up! Full coverage!"

Several shinobi made hand-seals, and they shot glowing balls of light up into the air, which exploded and sent glittering shards of light falling to the ground, illuminating the area. At the same time, powerful floodlights on top of the sentry tower switched on with a loud click, lighting up the dried lake bed. Naruto could feel the heat from where he was standing, and his heart began racing faster. He signalled Sasuke to prepare for battle, and the Uchiha nodded, briefly obscured by a puff of smoke as he summoned his ANBU uniform.

"Open," the Commander ordered the Jonin.

"Open the gates!" the Jonin roared. Shinobi moved quickly as they pushed open the chain-linked gate, leaving it wide open. "Medics, prepare for casualties! Do not step over the line!"

"Open the gate?" Naruto was confused. He turned to the Commander. "Why are we opening the gates? Aren't we under attack?"

"No," the Commander replied gruffly. "Runners are coming."

The Jonin beside him took over for him. "Runners are refugees," the bald man said grimly. "Civilians, citizens, missing-nin- anybody who wants to escape from the Land of Water for a better life. They usually don't get far, not with the Kiri's Hunter-Nin out there, but if they can make it this far… if they can make it past the yellow line, they're in Konoha's territory and they're safe."

Naruto could see problems already. "Wouldn't that make it very easy for Kiri to slip in an agent?"

"All of the runners are thoroughly debriefed," the bald man said. He looked out onto the field. "Sometimes we catch spies, sometimes they might slip through. Regardless, if Kiri lets four runners escape to try and plant a spy, that's four people we've saved." His voice softened, and he suddenly sounded very weary. "You have no idea what's about to come."

"We can't help," the Commander continued hoarsely, his eyes fixed on the brightly-lit lake-bed. "If we cross that line, we're crossing the border. If we cross the border, we start a war."

"All we can do is make it as easy as possible for them to come to us," the bald Jonin commented quietly.

"Incoming!" Somebody shouted from the sentry tower. "Twenty-seven contacts inbound. Chakra presences indicate mostly civilians- maybe three distinct signatures are genin!"

"C'mon," the Commander muttered. "Make it to the line."

"Hunter-Nins incoming!" the sentry shouted out again. "Runners are approaching the lake bed!"

"Adjust the lights, and up the intensity," the bald Jonin shouted. "Shine them right at the Hunter-Nin!"

The light spilling from the floodlights grew brighter, and they refocussed on something past the lake-bed. The sentry, obviously a Hyuuga, peered forward intently.

"They've slowed!" he called. "Runners are approaching the lake bed!"

"Here they come," the Commander murmured.

Naruto watched, his face a careful mask of blankness, as a horde of men and women emerged from the twisted trees at the other end of the dried lake bed. Some of them carried children, and others pulled at each other's hands to pull them along. They were screaming and hollering, waving their hands desperately to the outpost.

"Come to us!" a voice blared out on the loudspeaker. "Run as fast as you can! You're almost there! Come to us as quickly as possible!"

Blurs of black appeared behind them, and an elderly man in the back went down with a sudden scream and a spray of blood. Several of the runners turned their heads, and some screamed in fear, as two Hunter-Nin appeared. They each wore white masks and dark robes, and carried blades. One of them stood up from the corpse of the old man, and then they blurred, disappearing in quick movements as they hunted down the runners.

"Run! Drop your luggage! Bring nothing but yourselves! Run to us!" the loudspeaker continued, more urgent than before.

The two Hunter-Nin darted towards the runners, and a young girl, no older than Naruto, turned. She yelled something over her shoulder as she gestured for them to all run. Naruto gritted his teeth as he watched the kunoichi, obviously a genin, launch herself at the Hunter-Nin. A water technique rose up around her, shooting towards the assassins, but it was easily dodged. The girl jumped backwards and dove to the side, avoiding something that was thrown at her, but she was too slow to avoid the second Hunter's sword. An arc of blood sprayed into the air and she screamed in agony, a noise cut off with a gurgling hiss as steel was lodged in her throat.

The other Hunter-Nin was making hand-seal. The masked head reared back and a thin, yet powerful, stream of water shot out at the runners. It struck the ground, tearing through it, and rose up to slice through the backs of the fleeing men and women. Four of them went down, some screaming as limbs were severed, others already dead. He saw a mother holding a newborn to her chest collapse, the lower half of her body gone, and the baby began to cry.

Sasuke had had enough. His sharingan was blazing, spinning wildly in his sockets, and his breathing was harsh. Perhaps what he was seeing was bringing back old memories, or perhaps the injustice of it all had gotten to him, but he took a step forward meaning to go past the line. Naruto gripped his cloak and yanked him back into line. The Uchiha whirled on him, his face contorted in anger, but it froze when he saw his captain's face.

Naruto was deathly still, and his face was white with repressed rage. Most of it wasn't overly obvious, but his lips were twitching, his hands were clenched, and the look in his eyes was enough to pierce Sasuke's bubble as he looked past the Uchiha, regarding the massacre before them in silence.

One by one, the runners were cut down as they tried to escape. Some made it closer than others. A small family got within ten or so metres of range before the Hunter-Nin got to them. The father whirled around, screaming incoherently as he swung a rusty iron bar with all of his might, but it was sliced in two and his stomach was torn open an instant later. The mother made it a few more metres before senbon pierced her leg, and she collapsed, screaming agony and clutching at her leg. The two children she had been clutching fell out of her arms, a toddler and a small boy no older than seven. They were all crying.

The Commander let out a resigned sigh, and the bald Jonin looked pained, closing his eyes and looking away.

"Please!" the mother shrieked, holding up a bloodied hand towards the Leaf-Nin. "Please… help us!"

The oldest of the children crawled their way, closing the gap between the two lands inch by inch, but the boy was slow and stuck in the mud. The Hunter-Nin approached the small family leisurely, the urgency gone now that most of their targets were down. At this range, Naruto could see that it was a female. Her mask was filled with tiny little tally marks, scrawled over every open surface, and Naruto abruptly realised that that was how many people that this operative had killed.

Her partner stayed behind her, ruthlessly cutting down any of the wounded survivors. In the distance, he raised his sword and swung it down at something, and the cries of the baby abruptly went silent.

"I beg you…" the mother was weeping. She turned back and to face her executioner, sobbing. "Please, mercy… spare my children… the line's right there, just let… just let them crawl over… kill me, but let them over…"

The Hunter-Nin didn't even turn to look at the woman as she walked past. It was as if the sobbing, begging mother was just another piece of the landscape for all the attention the Hunter-Nin gave her. Her attention was focussed on the runner closest to the border, showing little concern that there were enemy shinobi less than ten metres away either.

Sasuke gritted his teeth, feeling warmth burning at the back of his eyes. Naruto had dropped his head, his eyes squeezed shut. His jaw trembled, and beneath his skin a furnace raged. For the first time since the battle against the false Jinchuuriki, Naruto heard the chains rattling in his ears, stronger and louder than ever before. He was angry, truly, truly angry.

"Please, my children! No! Don't!"

His eyes opened and his head shot up. The Hunter-Nin was two steps from the oldest boy, sword rising to deliver a fatal strike. Naruto's teeth clenched, and then with a sudden flare of chakra he swung out his arms. There was no hand-seal or practised technique to what he did. He reached deep within him, brushed past the horrible mental agony and seized those rusty, corroded chains in his hands. The sound of clanging, rattling metal filled the air as Naruto took that strange power and forced it from his _tenketsu_. It burned, it was almost as painful as the chakra of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, but he endured it as he lashed out with the chains.

The Hunter-Nin was good, she was very good. She whipped her blade around and split one of the chains in half in an instant, the honed edge of her sword slicing through the corroded, barely usable chains. Broken links of metal fell to the ground, disappearing in wisps of violet smoke, but more chains lashed out and the Hunter-Nin was pushed back. They wrapped around the boy, snaked around the toddler and made for the mother-

- but then her partner was there and together they shattered each of the chains that Naruto sent, stopping the rescue.

Naruto clenched his fist and _pulled_, and the chains came flying back, wrapped around two small bundles. They past the yellow line and tumbled to the ground as Naruto lost control of his technique, the chains shattering and breaking apart in a shower of purple light. Nonetheless, he had done it, and the two children were safe. They were instantly scooped up by the awaiting medical squad, even as the rest of the Leaf-Nin turned to Naruto in horror. The Commander clenched his fist and the bald Jonin looked furious, but Naruto ignored them as he strode towards the yellow line.

On the other side, the female Hunter-Nin was doing the same thing, and they came face to face, separated only by a single line of paint. Naruto stared at her mask, willing his eyes to see past it, aiming right where her eyes would be. The woman, on the other hand, showed emotion for the first time- she gave off the air of somebody who was annoyed.

"That was not your jurisdiction," she said coolly. "Return the criminals."

"I made it my jurisdiction," Naruto responded sharply. "And if you want them, then come and take them." He took a deep breath, folded multiple layers of chakra in and let the suppressed power leak from his _tenketsu_. The air around him shimmered and the ground beneath his feet groaned and cracked. He leaned forward, moving his face right against her mask, his blue eyes narrowed. "Come on, cross the line. I _fucking dare you_!"

The Hunter-Nin didn't flinch at the show of restrained power, but her body language certainly indicated that she was more wary, and her partner behind her had taken position, ready for combat. For a few moments, it was uncertain what would happen. It would have been foolish for the Hunter-Nin to attack- there were clearly more Leaf-Nin than Kiri-Nin, but the woman didn't seem to care. Then, she took a step backwards and sheathed her sword. She turned to her partner and swiped a finger against her throat.

The mother, still bleeding and wounded on the ground, looked up at Naruto with such gratefulness. "Thank you," she wept. "Thank you so mu-"

She was cut off as the second Hunter-Nin calmly executed her. The first motioned to her partner and they disappeared in a flicker of movement, leaving behind nothing but a spray of water and a field of corpses.

The Commander sagged and the bald Jonin heaved a sigh of relief. The greying man turned to Naruto, eying him sternly, but there was a hint of a smile tugging at his lips.

"Don't worry," Naruto interrupted him before he could say anything. His kept his eyes out on the field. "I'll take full responsibility."

The Commander nodded. "I know you will," he said gruffly. He paused, and then clapped Naruto on the shoulder. "We don't often get to save a runner. It's… a good feeling." He turned and hobbled off.

"What…" Sasuke was panting, his sharingan still swirling. His fists had clenched so hard that small droplets blood dripped to the ground. "What… was that?"

The bald Jonin snorted humourlessly.

"That?" he echoed. "That was life at the Wall." He clapped Sasuke roughly on the back. "Go home, kid, and never come back to this hell-hole."

He turned and left, leaving the two members of Team Sigma staring out at the field of corpses.


	44. Operation HURRICANE: Part I

**A/N: The idea from the wall came from the Berlin Wall back during the Cold War, although I obviously see the Game of Thrones references too. For much of the story, I've been using the Naruto World Map from the Naruto Wikia to keep a track of what's where. On the map around the south of the Land of Fire, there's a sort of hammer shaped wedge. On one side, you have Tea Country. The other side is unnamed. THAT's the side I'm using as the 'Bloody Cove'. It's probably completely inaccurate as hell, but artistic lying and all that.**

**Here's the next chapter. Two more are in development, one's almost done and should be up on Friday. The next few chapters are a little shorter than average, around 4.5k words, but I didn't want to fluff up the scenes by unnecessarily dragging on. I usually aim for a 4k minimum, so at least it's past that. Back in the 'good old days' of '05 and '06, I used to aim for 2k, so at least I've doubled the length.**

**Enjoy.**

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><p><strong>Operation HURRICANE Part I<strong>

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><p>The Third Hokage puffed on his pipe, his hands folded on top of his oak desk and his hat slid down to hide his eyes. It was hard to read any emotion on that indecipherable face, but every member of Team Sigma, spread out on the other side of the desk, had a sense that the old man was quite annoyed. At the head of the ANBU Team, Naruto waited his punishment with a blank face. He had disobeyed standing orders and intervened in a situation that was out of his jurisdiction, right in front of the elite ANBU of Kirigakure, no less. Although what he did was morally right, should the Fourth Mizukage take offense, it could set off a chain of events that, in the best possible scenario, had a negative impact on Konoha, and in the worst possible scenario, would lead to war.<p>

He knew this. Uzumaki Naruto had been in ANBU for almost six years. He had been a Captain for over a year. He knew the regulations. He had passed his emotional conditioning course with flying colours. Still, some tiny, small, rebellious part of him stubbornly refused to see his actions as anything more than 'doing the right thing', and, for once, Naruto was content with that.

He had saved some lives. It wasn't often that he got to do that

That was why he would meet the gaze of the Hokage evenly, fully prepared to accept the consequences of his actions.

The old man in question let out a sigh, dropping his hands and pushing away the open scroll he had been reading- a detailed report on exactly what had occurred at Outpost Sierra. He puffed on his pipe a few more times, and then moved it from his mouth. Stern, unyielding eyes shot up and glared at the blond ANBU Captain.

"Uzumaki Naruto," Sarutobi Hiruzen murmured. "Are you prepared for the consequences of your actions?"

His quiet voice echoed around the office. The rest of Team Sigma remained still. Naruto could feel more than see Sasuke behind him, the usually stoic Uchiha barely restraining himself. Of all the members of Sigma, Sasuke had been the one who had approved of Naruto's actions the most. The raven-haired ANBU member had seen enough slaughter in his short lifetime, and he had had his fill of watching the defenceless and innocent being cut down by those stronger and more skilled. For Sasuke, anybody who would intervene and stop a massacre from happening was somebody who should be respected.

"I am, Hokage-sama," Naruto replied curtly.

Sarutobi nodded heavily, as if expecting the answer. The atmosphere of the office was tense and even Naruto swallowed heavily as the Hokage deliberated on exactly what his fate would be. The retribution that came was quick, sudden, and unexpected.

"Moron!" Sarutobi thundered.

His arm moved as a blur and before Naruto could react, a thick, heavy tome had slammed into his head and sent him toppling backwards to the ground. The rest of Team Sigma flinched, Daichi and Yuuka taking a step back as the Hokage towered over his desk, leaning forward to eye Naruto on the ground.

"Don't start wars, you idiot!" Sarutobi's voice resounded throughout the office. His annoyance was plain on his face. "If you want to start a war, step up and take my robes! Then you can do whatever you want! Until then, stop it!"

"...really?" Naruto groaned as he sat up off of the ground. He rubbed his face gingerly, silently thanking the headband that had absorbed a lot of the blow. "The face again?"

"There's nothing worthwhile about it," Sarutobi grumbled as he sat back down in his seat. He signed something and rolled it up. "If I threw it at your arms or legs, you wouldn't be able to complete your week's allotment of administrative duties."

"That's my face you're talking about," Naruto muttered sourly as he stood up.

"Like I said, nothing worthwhile," Sarutobi repeated.

Naruto's face twitched, but he held it in. "A week of admin duties, then?" he asked quietly.

"And I'm docking your pay," Sarutobi continued. He shuffled his papers. "It will be sent with our formal letter of apology to the Village Hidden in Mist."

Naruto could accept that- he barely used his money in the first place. He much of it left anyway, most of it being spent on retrieving Tsunade many months ago, but after the failed revolution and the slew of missions his team had done in the last couple of months, his balance was back up to where it used to be.

"Hokage-sama…" somebody interjected. The Hokage's eyebrows raised as Sasuke took a step forward, his eyes intent. "Why…why don't we do something about Kiri? How can we let that happen?"

The Hokage sighed, looking quite old. "Nobody has ever taken the Land of Water," he explained kindly. "Nobody. It's an archipelago made up of a thousand islands, some large, many small- all enough to conduct insurgency operations. We'd need twice the forces we have now to even consider it, and while we could take it, we could never hold it."

Sasuke looked like he was going to protest, but the Hokage raised a hand, stalling him.

"I understand, Sasuke," he said, and he sounded like he truly did. "However, to take on Kirigakure, we'd have to move forces away from our other borders. We'd leave them vulnerable, and our neighbours would take advantage of that. If we tried, what is happening over there would happen here, to our citizens and our families. It's a tragedy, but sadly, there's nothing we can do."

Sasuke looked mulish, and the Hokage paused. Then, the corners of his lips twitched and he leaned forward.

"Nothing officially, of course," he concluded.

Sasuke still looked troubled, but he bowed his head and moved back into formation.

"Now, Team Sigma," the Hokage continued, his voice much cheerier than before. "I expect you all to be here at 0700 sharp. You've got a lot of work to do."

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><p>They truly did. There was still a lot of paperwork flying through the office from the failed revolution. Audits were being carried out at every significant village and town. Personnel reviews and mission reports were being examined and filed for later analysis. Budgets were being discussed, patrol routes changed, and lots of other very little tasks that built up into there being a lot of paper to shuffle.<p>

Most of the decision making was done before the reports arrived at the Hokage's Office. That was what the various departments were for. Nonetheless, the Hokage liked to review many of them before they were filed, and so they were forwarded to him. He read some of them, made adjustments to a few others and just plain ignored the rest. As the old, grey-haired man sat at his desk, Team Sigma darted in and around him. They collected reports, sent off messengers, sorted out archive boxes and escorted them to the Records Department. It was a never-ending cycle, and the paperwork never seemed to stop.

"Our annual budget from the Fire Court is being announced next week," Sarutobi informed them during a lull in the work. "We need to make sure we're on top of things before it is- it makes the work that comes after that much easier. Now, stop lazing about and get to work!"

"This wasn't quite what I was expecting when I was drafted into the Hokage's personal guard," Towa muttered to Daichi as they lifted up a stack of boxes and began to leave the office.

"Get used to it," the Hyuuga said with good humour. "We might be doing this for a while."

Towa made a noise of annoyance as the two ANBU disappeared.

Naruto just went about his duty as normal. This was nothing new to him, and he'd been doing this sort of work for years. If there was a decision that needed to be made and the Hokage was unavailable or busy, Naruto would often make it on his behalf. It was one of the technical powers behind his position as the Hokage's representative, and if the Hokage didn't like it then Naruto would be sure to hear about it, but it usually ended up being the correct decision. After all of the years spent in Sarutobi's service, he had gotten used to the way the man thought, and he understood a lot of the reasoning and thought processes behind the decisions.

When he wasn't making village-wide decisions, Naruto was helping his squad grow accustomed to the heavy load of work they were doing. In many ways, it was more exhausting than combat training. Komachi, usually level-headed- except when Towa was involved- almost shredded a filing cabinet with her wire before Naruto was able to help her sort through it. Daichi and Yuuka never seemed to be in the office long as Naruto kept them busy running messages, picking up packages and scrolls, and escorting the administrative stuff to the Records Department. In many ways, the young blond was in his element, it was little wonder one afternoon that the office was still running smoothly even as the Hokage napped behind his desk.

"Triplicate that," Naruto ordered Sasuke, who held a piece of offending paperwork looking befuddled. "Use the stamp here and here, and then send one copy to the Archives, one to Intelligence, and file one on the third floor. Got it?"

"Sure," Sasuke said, sounding anything but. He sighed tiredly. "You seem to know exactly what you're doing. Me, I can barely get my head around this."

Naruto smiled wryly. "I've been doing this for years," he responded dryly. "Seven, long, _long_, years." He shrugged. "You get used to it."

"We can tell," Sasuke commented. "You're practically running the Village up here. I mean, the Hokage hasn't really done anything in the last two days."

Naruto waved it off. "He's too lazy," he said sourly. "Why do it yourself when you can have your elite ANBU guard do it for you? The lazy old…" he trailed off, frowning.

A messenger had just entered the room. Naruto gestured him over and took a scroll from him. He scanned it, his eyebrows rising as he read the contents.

"Okay, that's way above my pay grade," Naruto muttered. He turned to the desk, where the Hokage had just opened his eyes, and passed along the message.

The Hokage took it and read it. After considering it for a minute, he nodded at Naruto, who turned back to the messenger.

"Send him in," Naruto instructed.

"Yes, sir!"

A few moments later, a nervous looking man was escorted into the room. He was thin and reedy, wearing spectacles and the thick-furred robes generally popular with the Lightning Court- the Feudal Court of the Land of Lightning. Sarutobi sat behind his desk patiently as the man approached him, while the rest of Team Sigma continued to work quietly around the room. The man squared his shoulders and cleared his throat.

"I wish you good tidings, Hokage-sama," he began with a surprisingly deep and expressive voice. He gave a deep, respectful bow. "I am Kobayashi Abe, messenger and representative of the Lightning Lord…"

"Yes," the Hokage interrupted politely. He smiled. "I have heard of you."

"Ah, yes," Abe continued, a flitter of disconcertion passing over his face. He straightened. "I come on behalf of my Lord with an unusual request. Know that you will be extremely well compensated for any troubles that you encounter. The Lightning Lord will remember your steadfastness and commitment to the mission, and assuredly reward you such. Should you take up our quest, you can name your reward- within reason, of course."

The Hokage tilted his head in an indication of slight interest, while Naruto looked up from the scroll he was reading curiously.

"Oh, my," Sarutobi chuckled quietly. He rubbed his hands together. "This must be an extremely unusual request. I don't often have representatives of the Feudal Courts promising anything and everything. Tell me," he said to Abe, "What service does the Lightning Lord wish to hire Konoha, and why has he not gone to his own Hidden Village?"

Abe smiled wryly. "The Fourth Raikage would not authorise the mission," he replied. "Too much chance of a 'diplomatic incident' occurring, I believe he said. Nonetheless, the Lightning Lord feels quite strongly, and he has chosen to come to the strongest Village in the Elemental Countries…" He gestured with his hand. "Here."

Naruto was a little surprised at that. While the Feudal Lord had no direct authority over the assignments that Hidden Villages may take, generally speaking, mission requests from the Feudal Court weren't turned down. To keep the relationship between the Feudal Lord and the Hidden Village running smoothly, it was best to accept the jobs, provided they would not place the Village in danger.

If the Fourth Raikage had refused, there must have been a good reason for it.

"What does the Lightning Lord want done?" Sarutobi asked quietly.

Abe took a deep breath. "The Lightning Lord's favoured nephew has gone missing," he informed the old man. "He kept a personal correspondence with him, and while my Lord did not approve of his nephew's lifestyle, he respected the decision. Now, however, that correspondence has stopped. There has been no contact for many months, and the Lightning Lord is worried. He wishes you to investigate the matter and retrieve Kubota Masaso, his nephew."

It all sounded rather straightforward. What had the Raikage been worrying about?

"I see," the Third Hokage replied. He paused for a moment, his eyes distant in thought. Then, his lips twitched in what may have been a rueful smile. "I assume the Masaso' last known location was somewhere politically inconvenient?"

"You could say that," Abe answered. "Eight years ago, he was assigned to the Feudal Court of the Land of Water as our ambassador. When the Civil War began, the borders closed, but the Water Lord still retained much of his power and kept the Courts running. Masaso chose to…stay," he struggled to continue. "He was always a… soft man. He held a lot of sympathy for the disadvantaged. He felt he could help more there than back home."

"Our intelligence indicates that the Water Court fell over three years ago," Sarutobi replied. He gave Abe a steady look. "The Water Lord was slain, most of his family butchered, and the nobility scattered."

"Masaso escaped the purge," Abe answered. "He got involved with the resistance, and he helped them run the underground railroad- a series of safe-houses and passages used to help people escape the Mizukage's regime. He helped them forge appropriate papers, drew from his personal funds to set refugees up with houses, clothing, jobs." Abe paused. "He is a good man, Hokage-sama," he continued earnestly.

Sarutobi sighed. "Yes, so it seems," he murmured.

In the corner, pretending he wasn't listening, Naruto felt a jolt of surprise at that. He hadn't known that Konoha knew a lot about what was going on in the Land of Water- it was closed up tight, and very little ever escaped. His fingers twitched as he recalled the events of last week at the Wall. No, not much got out of that hellhole at all.

"Masaso did mention that the Resistance was being outfitted with supplies, and unmarked shinobi have worked with Resistance agents to run operations against the regime," Abe said. "The Lightning Lord knew it was not Kumo, however, the Village who had been running such operations would have a means to infiltrate and operate beyond the borders."

Sarutobi's head shot up sharply, his eyes suddenly hard and unforgiving. "Konoha's official position on the situation in the Land of Water clearly states our non-involvement in the matter," he rebuked quietly, but sternly. "It would be best if you remembered that. Unfounded rumours and idle speculation will not help your cause."

"Forgive me." Abe bowed, deeper and lower than before. "I know not where the Resistance gets their help from. I apologise for whatever assumptions I have made."

"Good," Sarutobi accepted the apology. He stroked his goatee. "Your request is quite troubling. There are few who would be willing- or able- to accept such a mission."

"The payment would be significant," Abe answered firmly.

He reached into his cloak and pulled out a sealed scroll. Sarutobi eyed it and Naruto took it as a cue to move. He placed down his book and walked over to the ambassador. Taking the scroll, and noting the sealed emblem of the Lighting Court, he passed it onto the Hokage, who took it carefully. The seal flashed with an orange light and the scroll unravelled. Sarutobi began reading it, and whatever he was reading was enough to make him look distinctly startled.

"The Lightning Lord loves his nephew, and payment will come out of his personal accounts," Abe continued passionately. He gestured at the scroll. "The amount listed in there is enough to fund your Village for the next six months. The land holdings are yours to do with as you wish- sell them, rent them, use them, he cares not. A 64% increase in job delegation for your Village with wages paid 10% above what we pay Kumo- the rewards my Lord offers you are significant."

"It truly is," Sarutobi murmured. He seemed deep in thought, and Naruto was sure that his eyes flickered towards him for a split-second. He leaned back in his chair. "Allow me some time to consider your proposal."

"Of course, Hokage-sama," Abe replied, and he bowed deeply. "May this be the start of a friendship between the Village Hidden in Leaves and the Lightning Court."

He left the room, leaving the Hokage and Team Sigma alone. The Hokage took a deep breath and turned his head to stare at Naruto.

Naruto stared back.

* * *

><p>Deep within the Department of Intelligence, there was a room. It was a room that most shinobi didn't know existed, a room where operations and missions of the strictest secrecy were planned out. Aides, messengers, and assistants- anybody not relevant to the running and planning of the mission were kept out. It was within that room that Team Sigma stood around a table, staring down at the large map of the Land of Water.<p>

At the head of the table, Nara Shikaku was rummaging through some notes. The Hokage sat in his chair, listening carefully, as four members of the Department of Intelligence darted around the room, passing out briefs, placing pins on the map and generally looking quite busy.

"Team Sigma," the Hokage began. He puffed on his pipe, blowing a cloud of smoke into the air, and levelled a steady look at them. "The mission you are about to undertake is dangerous. It is also 'off the books'." He paused, staring at every member of the team. "You will be outfitted with suicide capsules. They will be inserted in your teeth. Should you be captured, it is expected that you will protect Konoha's interests to your last breath. Your Team Leader will also have access to a remote technique that will deploy the neurotoxins to your bloodstream should you be unable to."

Team Sigma was motionless, although beads of sweat ran down Sasuke's head, and Towa's hands were clenched.

"If you do not wish to participate, now is your chance," Sarutobi continued. He gestured to the door. "Leave. Nothing will be said. Nothing will be noted. You cannot go into this half-heartedly. If you stay, I expect your full commitment. You have ten seconds to decide."

Naruto felt like a block of lead had fallen into the pit his stomach. He had gone on dangerous missions before, and he had fought dangerous enemies. However, he had never been grilled like this for any of the operations he had participated in. Granted, a lot of them might have been just as dangerous as this one, but they had been a matter of village security, whereas this was just a mission from a client- granted, a well-connected and powerful client.

He clenched his fists, steadied his nerves and stayed still.

So did the rest of Team Sigma.

Sarutobi gave a faint smile. "As expected of my personal ANBU," he said with an air of satisfaction. He turned and nodded at Shikaku. "Begin."

"This mission will now be referred to as Operation HURRICANE," Shikaku began in his gravelly voice. His scarred face was illuminated by the fluorescent lights above them, and he gestured down at the map. "This is an S-ranked operation on a need-to-know basis. Whatever facts you learn in this room stay with you. Disclosure of any information that may come up in the planning and commencement of this operation is a capital offence. Do you understand?"

Many of Team Sigma nodded. It was sometimes surprising for Naruto to see his usually loud and antic-filled squad act so professional, but they _were_ an ANBU team, and even Towa and Komachi could drop the act when needed.

"This is what we know about the Land of Water's current situation." Shikaku pointed at the map. "The Fourth Mizukage has implemented martial law. His Academies are churning out shinobi by the hundreds, and most of them are unskilled and barely trained. Nonetheless, he's managed to forcibly occupy every major and minor city and town on the map. His personal guard, Kirigakure's '_TIDE_', implement his policies without hesitation. If you cross the Mizukage, you and your family disappear."

He pointed at the numerous red dots and pins on the map.

"These indicate strongholds or significant portions of Kiri's army," the Nara continued. "They occupy most of the territory from there. Each major region has a local commander, and they enforce the Fourth's policies in that region. Dozens of towns will fall under that commander's purview. Now, the blue pins…"

He gestured at the scattered few blue pins. There weren't very many of them at all when compared to the red pins.

"This is what we know about Resistance activity. They operate in small isolated cells. The Resistance has fewer numbers, but they make up for their lack of numbers with skill. There's at least fifteen former Jonin, according to Kiri's latest Bingo Book, and they all seem to take orders from a woman named Terumi Mei."

Fuzzy photos of a striking red-haired woman were passed around.

"She's apparently gone up against Yagura and held her ground," Shikaku told them. "She's definitely their most powerful asset and one…" He paused, quickly glancing at the Hokage, but the old man merely nodded. "And one we've worked with before."

So, Abe had been correct. It had been Konoha running black-ops into the Land of Water.

"The package was last seen here," Shikaku continued. He pointed at a small black pin- a village or town under the Mizukage's control but without a significant shinobi presence. "Contact between the package and his uncle stopped four months ago. We don't have any more recent intelligence; our operatives were pulled out of there to help deal with the Jashin Incident."

There was a knock at the door and the Hokage looked up.

"Enter," he called.

A man walked in. Lean, of average height and sporting a close-crop, he looked utterly unremarkable in any way possible. He saluted and walked forward, coming to stand next to Naruto at the table.

"This is Rat," Sarutobi said. "He will be your guide and local expert to the region."

Rat took Naruto's hand and shook it. His grip was firm, but as they shook, Naruto noticed that nothing flickered behind those dead eyes.

"What division are you from?" Naruto asked curiously.

Rat titled his head. "Classified," he replied flatly. For a moment, Naruto thought he was annoyed, but then as he continued the blond ANBU realised that that was the way he always sounded. "Your security clearance isn't high enough."

_That _was interesting. As part of his duties as the Hokage's aide, Naruto's security clearance was one of the highest in the Village- or so had thought. It needed to be, given the level of information that was available to him and some of the errands and village-wide decisions that he made on behalf of the Hokage. Apparently, it wasn't as high as he thought.

"What's your experience?" Kage asked from the other side of the table. The oldest member of Team Sigma was sizing Rat up.

Rat turned to look at him blankly. "I have led small teams of operatives in and out of the Land of Water for the last five years," he replied. "Operations included intelligence gathering, asset acquisition, retrieval, interrogation and assassination. We assisted local resistance forces at times, and worked independently at others."

"Rat will be assigned to your squad," Shikaku told Naruto. "You have operational command, but I highly advise you listen when he speaks."

Naruto nodded. "How will we get in?" he asked.

Rat took over. "Kiri whaling boats use these waters here." He pointed at the map, a few hundred kilometres off of the coast of the Land of Waves. "Intelligence suggests that one of these boats is already in the area, and will be leaving in approximately 48 hours. We will deploy from here," he pointed at a small inlet in the Land of Waves, "and intercept the boat. We will attach ourselves to the hull, wait a seven-and-a-half hours, and then detach ourselves. We should be approximately _here._"

Where he pointed to was North of one of the larger regions in the Land of Water, surrounded by a chain of smaller islands. There were several red pins placed on the map, quite a few black pins, three blue pins, and a golden pin at the edge of the coast. It was that gold pin that Rat referred to next.

"This is the asset's last known location," Rat continued dully. "Yosiibo is a small fishing village. Population does not exceed 200. From there, we may be able to rendezvous with local Resistance forces and find the mission priority."

Naruto nodded. He turned to look at Sasuke. "Have you had underwater training yet?" he asked.

Sasuke shook his head.

"You've got 12 hours," Naruto told him seriously. "Better use that sharingan of yours- we're leaving in 18 hours." He turned to the Hokage and bowed his head. "Hokage-sama, Team Sigma accepts the mission. With your permission, we'll begin preparations."

"Dismissed," the Hokage commanded. As Team Sigma began to file out, he spoke up again. "Naruto."

The Uzumaki stopped.

"It is vitally important that your cover is not blown," the Hokage warned. His face was serious, and he leaned forward intently. "However, your survival comes before your cover. Only under the direst of circumstances may you use the chakra of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama," Naruto agreed.

Sarutobi leaned back. "Then prepare," he said. "Operation HURRICANE is a go."


	45. Operation HURRICANE: Part II

**Chapter Forty-Five**

**Operation HURRICANE Part II**

Operation HURRICANE began the very next night at eleven in the evening. Operative Rat had already departed the night before and would meet the rest of the team at the rendezvous point.

Departing from a discrete gate, Team Sigma headed east towards the Land of Waves. The nation had always been a quiet, rather dull place. Since the fall of the nearby Village Hidden in Whirlpools, it had rarely been involved in international events. The most notable thing to happen in the last ten years was the corporate magnate Gato's attempted takeover of the island nation. Kakashi and his genin team had been there, and it had ended with the Missing-Nin they had been fighting fleeing from the battle after being doublecrossed by Gato.

Not one month later, Gato's mangled corpse had been found hanging outside his private yatch. One does not betray an A-rank shinobi without reaping the consequences.

Since then, things had turned relatively peaceful for the Land of Waves. A new bridge had been constructed revitalising trade to the area, and the influx of merchants and traders to the area had brought a degree of shinobi presence to the region, scaring away many of the mercenaries and other unsavoury characters that had lingered since Gato's fall.

Team Sigma encountered none of them as they travelled quickly unpopulated regions of the tiny nation. Above them, the clouds flashed with light, and a second later a crack of thunder pealed through the air. The downpour was torrential and the storm obscured the moon and stars in the night sky. Visibility was poor, but with Daichi in the lead, it was a moot point. They continued travelling until the head reached the coast, arriving at the top of a steep, rocky bluff. Daichi paused, and his fingers twitched.

_: Contact – lights visible, outside byakugan range :_ the Hyuuga signed

Naruto came to stand behind him while the others took a loose defensive formation around them. They all crouched down in the mud, reducing their profile against the horizon, the rain slamming down on them. Their thick, black ANBU cloaks shielded them from the worst of it, and the tight, black bodysuits they wore underneath kept them relatively warm. Naruto reached into his cloak with a gloved hand and pulled out a set of binoculars. He peered through them.

A set of lights glimmered faintly in the distance, bobbing up and down and often disappearing behind the swell of a wave. The sound of the ocean around them was deafening, the waves slamming against the rocky beach below, and Naruto could practically taste the salt in the air. He lowered the binoculars and gestured to Komachi.

The slender Jonin pulled out a large, waterproof map. Naruto eyed it carefully, looking at the scrawled annotations written on it and comparing it to the lights he could see in the distance. They matched, and his lips thinned behind his mask.

_: Operation is a go- begin phase two :_ Naruto signed.

Then, he took a deep breath, backed up a little, and ran towards the cliff. His teammates followed him as they jumped over the edge of the bluff. The slope was steep, but the ANBU team scaled down it quite easily with the minor application of chakra. The closer the got to the beach, the louder the waves became, and in a few moments, they were all perched on a large, sharp-edged slippery rock. The water around them surged back and forth, white spray whipping up splashing against them even as the storm rumbled up ahead.

Naruto reached into his robes and pulled out a small rebreather attachment. He fiddled with the straps, adjusting it as he slipped it around his head and placed it over his mask. With a small click, the rebreather settled in place and suddenly his breathing changed. The smell of salt and seaweed almost disappeared completely. Naruto adjusted his rebreather one more time and then turned to Yuuka, who had just done the same as well.

They checked each other's equipment and then waited for the rest of the team.

_: Daichi – take point – everybody clip on – we go in 30 :_

They all nodded and reached for their waist. A tight belt was wrapped around each of them, surrounded by hooks and clips. Daichi reached into his robes, pulling out a large coil of black rope, and clipped the end onto his belt. He passed it to Naruto, who ran it through his belt, clipping it on and passing it to Yuuka. In a few moments, all of Team Sigma was connected by a long thirty-metre rope. Naruto tugged on his, checking it, and then nodded to Daichi.

The Hyuuga gave it three sharp tugs, nodded, and then began wading out into the water. Naruto followed, supressing a wince as his lower half was covered in a cold, icy sensation. His waterproof boots and bodysuit kept the water out, but it would take a while to adjust to the chilly temperature of the ocean. The waves tried to push him back but he fought against it. Daichi kept wading out further and further, the rest of Team Sigma following, stopping when his head was barely above the water. Then, he placed up his hand and began counting down.

When he reached zero, as one, Team Sigma disappeared underneath the surface of the ocean. They did not resurface.

The journey to their target took half an hour. They couldn't risk using lights or being spotted, for it was very likely that there was a shinobi on board the ship- the Mizukage wouldn't let the crew leave the Land of Water without some kind of guard. However, with Daichi at point, all the rest of the team had to do was swim. Daichi and the rope would guide them in the right direction.

They swam close to the sea-floor, almost twenty metres deep, using subtle chakra techniques to adjust their bodies to the different pressures. The water around them was completely dark, and there was no light emanating from anything. It was hard to tell exactly what direction they were swimming, guided only by the gentle tugs on the rope. Occasionally he would hear a scraping noise off in the distance, and Naruto felt something brush past him as he swam in the water. Other than that, it was fairly relaxing.

That is until they got closer to the vessel. A mournful howl echoed in the water all around them. It was low and deep, going into Naruto's very bones. A second call followed, something a little more high-pitched, and then Naruto felt a tug on his rope pulling him up. He followed, kicking behind him as they rose up from the bottom of the sea. They had to pause after a time, their hands slowing contorting into seals as they depressurised their bodies, and then they continued.

As they swam up, Naruto saw lights blinking in the distance. They were nearing the surface of the ocean, and light was beginning to appear in the murky depths. A low, humming noise surrounded them- the engines of a boat- and it grew louder and louder until it was almost deafening. Sudden movement caught his eye, and Naruto turned around to see something big and dark push through the water. As he rose, he saw the outline of a whale, thin cables and cords tugging at it, pulling it back towards the surface. At one point, the team was swimming through an inky, black substance, and Naruto abruptly realised it was whale blood.

Daichi continued on, slowing down as the neared the keel of the ship. The hull was dark and covered in barnacles. Team Sigma rose up and grabbed hold of whatever they could. Daichi reached into his cloak and Naruto followed suit, pulling out a small, rubber handle. He stuck it on the hull, letting its adhesive surface stick to the metal, and then tugged at it. It stayed strong, and Naruto took a deep breath through his rebreather and relaxed. As the rest of the team around him secured their spots on the vessel, Naruto settled himself against the hull of the ship and tried to make himself comfortable.

Phase three was now in effect. It was going to be a long trip.

* * *

><p>It was early in the morning when Shimura Danzo entered the Hokage's office. Unlike most rooms in the building, this one was still brightly lit. The old, crippled man entered, his wooden cane tapping against the floorboards. Hiruzen didn't give any indication that he had heard his old friend and just kept reading through the paperwork on his desk. It was much messier than usual, filled with maps, intelligence reports and profiles on notable Kiri-Nin.<p>

"I see you're still working hard," Danzo said evenly. He came to rest at the other end of the Hokage's desk and sat down with a slight groan, giving a weary sigh once he was fully seated. "I'm surprised you took the mission."

"It was too good of an opportunity to pass," Hiruzen responded quietly, head still down over a bundle of paper.

"There are easier ways to gain influence in the Lightning Court," Danzo reflected. He eyes his one-time rival carefully. "Ways that do not include endangering Konoha's Jinchuuriki."

"You misunderstand me, old friend," Hiruzen rebuked. He placed the piece of paper down on the desk and rubbed his eyes. "This mission is exactly what Naruto needs to continue his development."

"Oh?" Danzo cocked his head. "How interesting…"

Hiruzen smiled thinly. "Naruto's heart has weakened," he said, and there was a trace of something like sadness in his tone. "His Will of Fire burns less bright. In many ways, I believe he has forgotten exactly what it is that he fights for. The Land of Water will be a good opportunity for him to…" He paused. "...reflect on exactly why we do the things we need to do."

Danzo was still, his face expressionless behind his bandages. "I wasn't aware that there were morale concerns," he said after a few moments. "That is a concern."

"The entire incident affected him in more ways than one," Hiruzen answered. He took a deep breath and released it as a soft sigh. "The brutality was something he could handle, but I believe that empathised with the false-jinchuuriki. Their fates saddened him."

"A waste of life," Danzo snorted. "An interesting premise, yes, but ultimately a waste. To house that much demonic chakra indicates strength- I wonder, had we gotten to them first, what kind of shinobi those children could have become."

He fixed a piercing look at the Third Hokage.

"The border incident- was that to your design as well?"

Hiruzen nodded. "Your informants do you credit," he answered quietly. "The refugees appeared exactly when they were meant to. Naruto's response, however…."

"Short-sighed," Danzo grunted. He moved his cane and adjusted his leg. "It demonstrated a clear lack of reason." He frowned. "His emotional stability is compromised."

"We did that, friend," Hiruzen answered, shaking his head. "In our attempts to mould him, we damaged his psyche. Did you know he can produce Kushina's chains?"

There was a flicker in Danzo's eyes, and for a moment he looked briefly taken aback. "How interesting…" the old man mused.

The Hokage's smile was brittle. "Because of Naruto's emotional conditioning, they have been…" He paused, humming. "…damaged, for lack of a better word. Combined with some interesting side-effects from the Nine-Tailed chakra, they may represent a problem."

The two men sat in silence for a few minutes, each wizened shinobi thinking quite carefully. Uzumaki Naruto was the product of years of careful training and exposure to the outside world. Most of it was going as planned, and Naruto's infamy continued to grow as expected.

"Will it affect the plan?" Danzo asked after some time. "Do we need to-"

"What?" Hiruzen interrupted, sounding slightly incredulous. "Abandon the plan? Leave him out on the gutter? Put him down?" He gave a short, sharp laugh. "No, I will continue on as planned. He's already so far along. His administration and communication skills are excellent. He runs half the Village already. His combat skills are excellent- I can count on one hand the number of shinobi that could come close to that level of strength at his age."

He rubbed his goatee.

"No, I will continue as necessary," Hiruzen said firmly. "Five years is all that it will take. In five years, the Village with have its Fifth Hokage, and possibly its most powerful yet."

"Unless he gets cut down by a Kiri-Nin in the meantime," Danzo added dryly. He tapped his cane against the floor in a rhythmic pattern.

"He needs to experience the world." Hiruzen was unrepentant. "Intellectually, he understands the rationale behind making tough decisions, of being ruthless and brutal. Emotionally, he needs to catch up. It will be good for him."

Danzo nodded, accepting his Hokage's reasoning. "There is the other matter," he said after a few moments. He gave Hiruzen a significant look. "_He_ won't be happy."

"He doesn't have to be happy," Hiruzen retorted sharply. "Itachi sent the boy down this path- a path that Sasuke is all-too happy to follow. It may do Sasuke some good also- to see why sometimes the hard decisions have to be made."

Danzo's lips twitched. "Very well," he acquiesced. "We shall see how this turns out."

Hiruzen hummed, but did not comment, and he did his best to hide the trembling of his hand. He stared at it as he tried to force it under control, but even when Danzo stood and left, it was still trembling.

Five years, he reminded himself. After fifty years, it was nearly nothing.

Just a little longer.

* * *

><p>The trip into the Land of Water was extremely boring.<p>

Attached to the bottom of the hull of a large whaling ship, there was absolutely nothing for Naruto to do. It had already been several hours according to his internal body clock, and he had spent the most of them sleeping restlessly as best he could. He had only woken when the tug on his rope indicated that it was his turn to keep watch, and he had kept his eyes on the surface of the water. The brilliant spotlights mounted on the vessel had kept its focus on the whale while it was being dragged in, and then they had been turned off and the ship had turned around.

From what he could tell, the rain had lessened as they had moved further away from the coast of the Land of Waves, although the occasional flash of lightning could still be seen flashing above the surface of the water. The engines were quite loud, and if he listened carefully, he could even hear the shouts and hollers of the crew as they begun to cut up the whale.

Phase four was dependent on a pre-arranged signal from one of the crew. Naruto had no idea who it was, but from what he could tell, the person was bribed to give the signal on every single voyage, regardless if anybody was there or not. After several hours, he was glad to hear it when it came.

A loud, clanging noise erupted near Naruto's head. He jerked back in surprise, his heart hitching for a second. A second bang came next, then a third, and then it fell silent. Naruto rolled his eyes behind his mask, and tugged three times on the rope. He took the handle off of the hull of the ship, placed it in his cloak and then, after feeling a huge tug, jumped off.

Almost immediately, the dark hull of the vessel broke away from them, continuing to chug towards one of the Land of Water's largest ports. He caught a brief glimpse of the whirring propeller blades before Daichi led the team deeper into the ocean and the surface of the water grew more and more distant.

The next leg of the journey was half as long as the hitchhike on the ship had. Daichi carefully led them through a series of large trenches on the ocean floor, illuminating the area around them by a small but powerful torch. They moved slowly and kept their chakra expenditure to a minimum, being close enough nearby landmasses to be picked up by a particularly skilled tracker. It was a tiring and exhausting journey, and the entire team was thankful as Daichi led them past the ocean trenches and up towards the surface.

They emerged from the ocean on a small, deserted island- more of a series of rocky outcrops and dead reefs than anything else. As the team dragged themselves to the surface of the water and onto hard land, they dropped to the ground, panting. Daichi in particular, with the extended use of his bloodline, lay exhausted on the ground.

_: Perimeter established – no hostiles detected :_ Kage signed. A couple of crows cawed as they flew overhead.

"Rest up," Naruto ordered, keeping the fatigue out of his voice. He cleared his throat. "We'll stay here for half-an-hour, and then we're moving out."

The team took the chance to rest. Team Sigma, and most of Konoha's shinobi, weren't used to conducting underwater operations. While they could bound across the Land of Fire's abundant forests with relative ease, the long underwater swim had been much more taxing.

Komachi and Yuuka lay next to each other, masks off and their faces turned towards the night sky. Daichi was actually sleeping, body splayed out on the rocks, while Towa was on the other side of the small 'island', relieving himself in the water. Sasuke had his back up against a rock, frantically eating ration bar, while Kage chewed methodically on his, surveying the map in front of him.

Naruto made his way to him, already feeling a lot of his weariness fade.

"How are we?" He asked the older shinobi quietly.

"On track," Kage responded. He gestured at a tiny smudge on the map. "We're here. If we swim two hundred and eighty-four kilometres towards here," and he moved his finger on the map, "then we'll hit a sandbar. We move south-east from there, have a short break, and continue on south until we arrive at Alpha Target before daybreak."

Naruto nodded, hearing the information he already knew. It was relaxing to go over the facts, to know that every facet of the mission had been meticulously planned by people way smarter than he was. This clandestine operation was the most sensitive mission he had ever been on, and they couldn't afford any stuff ups.

"Take a break, Kage. I'll take watch," Naruto offered.

Kage blinked, and then nodded gratefully. He rose up, bowed his head at Naruto, and moved back to the others to take a rest, still chewing on his ration bar. Naruto stood guard at the tallest rock on the outcrop, arms folded. Phase three of their mission had finished, but there were a great many phases left.

* * *

><p>Team Sigma continued to use nightfall to their advantage, and after their short break with their rebreathers full, they slipped back underwater. Daichi continued to take point, leading them to a depth of thirty-metres and pushing forward. Unless an enemy sensor was right on top of them, it would be almost impossible for them to be spotted, but Naruto wasn't taking any chances. The lights remained off and the team continued to use the rope to guide them in the right direction.<p>

It was an hour and a half in their journey when the first unexpected incident occurred. The water around them was dark, but when Daichi tugged twice on the rope, signalling an enemy contact, Naruto was certain he could see what the Hyuuga was talking about. Rising from the sea depths was something sinewy and large, blacker than the darkness around them.

There was a brushing motion around him, the water surging past, and he suddenly caught a glimpse of something scaly and long as it shot past. Something snapped by his head and Naruto jerked back, barely avoiding a pair of jaws the size of his body from taking him out. His fingers sped through the water, forming seals.

_Water Style: Water Bullet Technique!_

His grasp of water techniques had greatly improved over the months, but even the greenest genin would have been able to form a powerful technique surrounded by this much water. Concussive bullets of compressed water shot out from his mouth, rapidly dissipating and losing power as they bled off into the ocean, but it was still powerful enough to strike the creature. It reared back, and a terrible screech reverberated around them.

Somebody came into view in the dim, murky water. Kage floated there, holding something that looked like a slingshot in his hands. He pulled back at the contraption and released it, and a something shot out from the end. It struck the creature in the hide, and then there was a fizzing bright yellow glow.

The spiked flare lay embedded in a gigantic sea serpent, the size of a small building. It lay coiled up on the seabed, half its body rising up to snap at them. Small oozy rivets floated from several puncture wounds in its side, but it looked relatively unharmed and quite annoyed.

_: Scatter and engage! :_ Naruto signed in the light of the flare.

He detatched himself from the rope and used chakra in the soles of his feet to propel himself down, avoiding the sea serpent as its head rolled through the water. Towa was a tad slower, and he took the blow to his chest, one arm raised to block it. He was sent spinning in the water, and Komachi shot after him in a burst of speed.

The rest of the team moved to engage the serpent. It was quite difficult. Their projectile weapons, save for Kage's, were quite impractical, and lot of their destructive techniques were useless underneath the water. Naruto flipped through some seals, finished on _monkey_, and threw out his arms.

The water around him surged, and bubbles exploded all around him. Giant, invisible blades of wind exploded from his _tenketsu_, shotting at the serpent. They left visible trails in the water and sliced open the serpents hide. The serpent screamed again, thrashing around, even as Kage lobbed another projectile at it. It sunk into the serpents head and exploded.

The explosion didn't produce any fire or smoke. Rather, a rippling orb of pressure expanded from the epicentre, tearing through the creature with devastating effect. It struck the shinobi some distance away, and Naruto grunted as he was buffeted by the powerful forces. He gathered himself, gestured to Yuuka and Sasuke, and then dove down at the creature.

While wounded, it was still capable of fighting. The blood and torn flesh floated around it, slowly rising to the surface or diffusing in the water. Naruto used burst of chakra to quickly propel through the water. As the serpent came at Yuuka beside him, he saw her throw her hand out and expend chakra through it. The recoil sent her sliding sideways through the water, avoiding the strike. Sasuke and Naruto kept diving, coming closer to the serpent, and the blond reached into his vest and pulled out his senbon and a reel of explosive tags.

The special underwater variant were insanely expensive and almost useless to use on the surface, but stuck on the end of senbon, they would do the job down here. He swam around the creature with a fistful of senbon, jabbing them into the creature one after the other, while Sasuke did the same on the other side of the serpent.

After a few moments, Naruto kicked up. The jinchuuriki saw that Sasuke was following him and as Kage and Yuuka continued to keep the beast beast, Naruto flipped around in the water and made a single hand-seal.

_Detonate!_

A series of concussive blasts erupted from all over the serpents reared up head and neck. The water frothed and writhed, and the pressure that lashed out at the surrounding shinobi was enough to pushing them several metres backwards. The sea serpent didn't screech or howl- the explosions had instantly killed it, and it's bloodied, mangled corpse slowly began to fall back onto the sea-bed below. The light emanating from the brightly-glowing flare dimmed as it went.

_: Resume journey :_ Naruto signed in the dying light. He grabbed the floating rope and attached himself to it again.

Once everybody was back on the rope, Kage made a hand-seal and the light below them died. Once again, they were back to swimming in the darkness.

* * *

><p>The rest of the journey went smoothly, and before long they had arrived close to their destination. They slunk out of the water very carefully, Daichi and Kage lying down partially submerged on the beach as they surveyed the area. Naruto and the others waited further back, their heads bobbing up and down on the gentle swell of the waves, until Kage raised a hand signalling the all-okay.<p>

They quickly climbed out of the water, surfacing at a small, unoccupied inlet relatively close to Alpha Target. At the end of the inlet, hidden behind some bushy plants, was a small cave entrance.

Inside, Operative Rat waited for them patiently. Dim lights lit up the area, revealing stacks of crates, sacks and a couple of hammocks placed up against one of the walls. Water dripped from somewhere, echoing out in the caves at a continuous, quite irritating rate.

Naruto detached his rebreather and placed it in his cloak. He nodded at the other operative as the rest of his team filed in cave. Towa was walking gingerly, supporting by Komachi, who gently led him to one of the hammocks. A few moments later, a green glow lit up the cave as the team medic began to heal her companion.

"You're seven minutes late," Rat observed tonelessly.

"We ran into the local marine life," Naruto answered.

"Irrelevent," Rat answered. He turned to a nearby overturned crate and the documents that had been placed on them. "We will need to cut your break seven minutes short if we are to arrive at the designated target on time."

Both Sasuke and Yuuka, rebreathers and masks off, looked pained.

"Understood," Naruto replied after a moment. "We'll leave in thirty-three minutes."

He didn't like it, but he understood where the apparently emotionless agent was coming from. They were running on a tight schedule and couldn't afford any delays.

As the rest of Team Sigma rested and ate, Naruto sidled up to Rat.

"Have you scouted the target?" Naruto asked.

Rat shook his head. "No," he responded. "I only arrived here an hour and a half ago. My contact had gone into hiding, and it took me some time to locate his safe house." He passed on some documents to Naruto. "Local passports for all of us, citizen registration, and other relevant documents."

Naruto took them and eyed them. "How good are they?"

"They will not pass an official investigation," Rat answered. "However, they should pass a random spot-check if needed."

"Right," Naruto said. He began handing out the forged papers. "We'll leave in thirty minutes. Hopefully we be in and out in fifteen minutes."

They left the small cave and began to travel to the other side of the island. Although it was a relatively short journey, they took their time, being very careful to keep a good eye on their surroundings and not leave any trace of their passing. A cracked tree branch or a bent fern would be all a Hunter-Nin needed to track them down.

After an hour, however, they had come close to their target. Daybreak was arriving, and the sky was beginning to lighten. Rat led the team through the last of the tall bamboo forests and onto a small grassy hill overlooking the town. The team stopped and surveyed Alpha Target grimly.

What had once been a small farming village was now a blackened, desolate wreck. Several rusty boats lay tipped upside down, pushed up against the shattered pier, and blackened wooden frames suggested that houses had once been built there. Whatever had happened there had happened a while ago because much of the plant life had already begun to overtake the village.

Nonetheless, the several dozen heads stuck on sharpened pikes in the middle of the village was still quite clearly visible from where they were standing. Naruto clenched his fists, feeling a sinking sensation forming in the pit of his stomach as he realised that his missions was not going to be as simple as he thought.

"Shit," he summed up the team's thoughts with a single word.

Together, they left the hill and began to approach the village.


	46. Operation HURRICANE: Part III

**Operation HURRICANE Part III**

* * *

><p>The small fishing village was completely deserted as Naruto led his team towards it. They arrived on the outskirts just as the sun was beginning to rise, and carefully made their way inside. The silence was deafening, broken only by the crash of the waves coming to shore and the gentle wind that brushed by their heads. It was a tense atmosphere, and Naruto kept his guard up and a steady grip on a kunai, surveying the pillaged town carefully.<p>

Whatever had happened had occurred months ago. Most of the buildings had been razed, and only the blackened wooden remnants of frames continued to stand. A large wooden pier had once extended out towards the ocean, but it was shattered and in pieces. Several boats were overturned and in pieces on the beach, and hundreds of pieces of smaller debris had washed up onshore.

The worst part was the smell. Bodies had been left out to rot, and over two dozen heads had been severed and placed on spikes at the centre of the village. While time and nature had done much to decompose the corpses, an acrid and rotten smell still hung over the ruins, making Naruto wrinkle his nose behind his mask. Yet, it wasn't as bad as he remembered, and he absently wondered if he was getting used to it.

_: Daichi, Sasuke, Yuuka – form defensive perimeter around the village :_ Naruto signed.

The three ANBU nodded, Sasuke a little slower and more hesitant than the others, and they disappeared in a flicker of movement. Naruto was glad to see the Uchiha go- the boy did not need to see more of this. One massacred clan compound was enough.

He signalled to Kage, Komachi and Towa. _: Scatter and search for priority-target-one – lookout for enemy traps – signal if you find anything :_

The team broke apart. Rat, their tracker and advisor, hung back, observing everything around him with an air of detachment and professionalism. The tall man came to stand next to Naruto, his white mask hiding anything he may have been feeling.

"Many of these bodies were killed in a single cut," Rat observed tonelessly. He bent down next to one of the desiccated corpses, gesturing at the rotten body. "A medium-sized blade, thin and angular- the weapon of a professional."

"ANBU?" Naruto asked quietly.

Rat nodded and stood up. "Most likely TIDE, Kirigakure's ANBU and the Mizukage's Sword. It is likely that they uncovered evidence of the town's involvement in the Underground Railroad and put it to the torch."

Naruto looked at the impaled heads. Any recognisable human feature had been eaten away by nature and the elements, and bleached-white bone peaked out from behind blackened, decaying flesh.

"A warning?" the blond asked.

Rat considered it. "Possibly," he conceded. "I will investigate the bodies and see if I can identify the target."

Naruto nodded in acknowledgement and Rat bowed his head before he left, bending down over a haphazardly stacked pile of corpses and leaning forward. Naruto turned away, observing the fallen buildings around him. The wind ruffled his black cloak and brittle wood and charcoal cracked under his feet as he walked through the ruins.

He wasn't quite sure what he was feeling. It was a muddled mix of different emotions, and it made his heart beat furiously. The chains rattled in his head, very softly, almost like it was whispering to him, but he ignored the manifestation of his power with practised ease.

Whatever had happened to the village, it had been quick. He spotted some signs of a resistance to the invading forces- evidence of several explosions, scattered debris, the broken hilt of a kunai, and several dozen shuriken embedded in one of the blackened poles. Somebody here had fought back, and the pattern of attack indicated a fighting retreat.

Naruto considered that. Perhaps the Resistance had fought against TIDE in an attempt to let as many people escape as they could. Certainly, there were suitcases and bags left scattered along the main road, as if people had dropped what they had been carrying and just ran. The ground was muddy, and by now nature had most certainly removed in tracks. The blond rubbed the back of his head thoughtfully.

A burning sensation emanating from his right shoulder, his ANBU tattoo indicated that somebody had just tried to signal him. Naruto glanced around and saw Towa waving his hand on the other side of the village, and he approached him.

"What have you got?" he asked quietly.

His voice echoed in the deserted ruins, and he felt a curious sense of embarrassment, as if speaking out loud was somehow disrespectful to those who had died here. He pushed the feeling away and crouched down next to Towa.

Towa gestured to the pile of rubble in front of him. It had once been a house, or so the fallen blackened wooden beams suggested.

"That pile there, the fabric," Towa answered softly. "They resemble the traditional clothes of the Lightning Court."

Naruto looked at them, brushing his fingers along the crusty, dirtied fur. Underneath all of the dirt, soot and ash was the remnants of something that might have been fine furs. It was hard to tell, but it was there best lead yet. He pressed a finger on his ANBU tattoo and signalled Daichi. The Hyuuga appeared a few moments later, crouched down next to him.

"Sir?" Daichi asked crisply.

"Use your eyes to search the ruins of this house," Naruto ordered. "Look for bodies. I want to know if anybody was in here when it burned down."

Daichi nodded and made a single hand-seal. A shudder ran through him as his _Byakugan_ activated behind his mask, and he carefully looked the house up and down.

"No bodies," he said after a few moments. "But there was a tunnel of some kind underneath it. It's a bit hard to tell, since it's been completely caved in, but I think it leads away from the town."

Towa and Naruto exchanged a look.

"An escape tunnel?" Towa suggested.

"Rigged to collapse once it was used so they couldn't be followed," Naruto concluded with a grim nod.

It was what he would do. The problem was that if the tunnel had collapsed, it was most likely done in a way that would make it extremely difficult to find its exit. The fact that it was months later wouldn't help at all.

"Captain?" Rat had appeared. "I have found a clue."

Naruto followed the stoic tracker to the other side of the village towards a forest of bamboo, Komachi and Towa following him. At the very edge of the tree line was a series of small rocks, arranged in a series of patterns. A series of geometric shapes had been scratched on the surface, a message for those who knew how to read it.

"What does it say?" Naruto asked Rat.

Rat shook his head. "Unknown," he answered tonelessly. "The codes have changed. This makes no sense at all, and I don't have a copy of the current cypher."

Naruto exhaled noisily. "Right," he said, his mind ticking away. He bit his lip. "Here's what we know. Loyalist forces approached this village. There was a fight. There was at least one escape tunnel leading away. The Loyalists won and executed the village's population."

He paused.

"What was the exact population of the village?" he asked Rat.

"Seventy-four," Rat answered.

Komachi looked up sharply. "I only counted fifty-one bodies," she said.

Naruto smiled thinly. "Then it's likely that there are survivors," he surmised. "And if there were survivors, they would have gone to somebody who could protect them."

"The Resistance," Towa supplied thoughtfully.

Naruto turned to Rat, who answered the unasked question.

"I have contacts," the man revealed. He gestured to the east. "There is a larger town a few hours travel away on the other side of the island. I have a safe house nearby."

"Then it's decided," Naruto said determinedly. He slapped his fist in his palm. "Gather the rest of the team- we're leaving."

* * *

><p>In the early hour of sunrise, Team Sigma stealthily made their way from one side of the large island to the other. As it warmed, it became apparent that the weather in the Land of Water was far different than the weather in the Land of Fire. The humidity was much higher, and with the rise in temperature came a deluge of insects. Crickets chirped from within the dampness of the jungle ground, mosquitoes buzzed all around them and tall, spindly trees rose up to cover them all in a brilliant green canopy. Ferns and bushes grew wherever possible and moss and fungus crept over everything in sight, mushrooms rising up the tree trunks and moss covering entire rocks. It was almost beautiful, if not for the sticky feeling in the air.<p>

Beneath his mask, Naruto was sweating. Nonetheless, he kept his composure as the small group travelled deeper into the jungle. A large mountain rose up from the middle of the island, a volcano that apparently hadn't erupted since the time of the Sage of the Six Paths. Their destination was on the other side of that mountain. However, according to Rat, there was also a Kiri encampment somewhere up in the mountain. Naruto wasn't sure of its exact purpose- for all he knew it could be the local garrison- but he wanted to avoid it if possible.

They sped through the jungle, Daichi once again keeping watch. The poor Hyuuga was stretching his bloodline to the limit, chewing through his chakra reserves quite quickly, and he had resorted to using the _Byakugan_ in small bursts every few minutes. If the team were to come into conflict with the enemy, Daichi would not be able to do much but stay out of the way and let his teammates cover the slack.

It was a necessary sacrifice. Alerting the enemy to their presence was the last thing that Naruto wanted, and Daichi's limited combat effectiveness wouldn't matter as long as they could avoid the Kiri-Nin's attention.

At the head of the small group, Daichi stiffened during a mid-jump and when he landed, he held up a hand, turning his head to look behind them.

_: Contact! :_ he signed urgently. _: Three shinobi, bearing in from NW – ETA 35 seconds! :_

_: Defensive Formation Nine! :_ Naruto commanded.

He dove down to the ground, landing neatly on top of a rock. Other members of the team hid themselves in the shadows of the trees and high up in the branches, while Naruto placed a finger on his tattoo and summoned forth a shimmering blanket. He wrapped himself around it and huddled amongst the mossy rocks. Around him, the blanket seemed almost transparent, allowing Naruto to see out of it. On the outside, however, the silky blanket had leeched the colours off the surroundings, camouflaging him from view.

With the positioning of the team, they were well hidden from sight and ready to defend the group from any angle of attack should they be detected. Luckily, the enemy contact sped past out of Naruto's view, and after a few minutes Daichi stepped out from the shadows of a tree.

_: Contact evaded : _The Hyuuga signed.

_: Resume position – Stay alert_ _:_ Naruto signed.

He rose up from the rocks, re-sealing the blanket back into the storage partition in his ANBU tattoo. The rest of his squad fell into formation and they continued their journey, albeit at a rather slower pace than before. They were more alert now that an active enemy presence had been confirmed.

They continued on for some time, stopping twice more to avoid detection from nearby Kiri-Nin. The patrol routes were erratic, following a schedule or pathways that only they knew. At one point, the squad was forced into the depths of a swamp, hidden within the mud and scum of the stagnant water as a full squad of shinobi leisurely walked past. They were noisy, loud and brutish, swearing and spitting as they told crude jokes. Team Sigma could have put them down in an instant if so required, but a missing squad would raise more flags than they needed.

_: Enemy activity in the region has dramatically increased :_ Rat signed as they continued on. _: Possibly as a consequence of the discovery of Resistance activity. Mission difficulty has increased :_

Despite the increased patrols, the Kiri-Nin lacked the skill to detect the elite team of ANBU from Konoha. Mission reports had suggested that the bulk of Kiri's forces were made up from fast-streamed Genin, making up for their lack of skill with brutality and fanatical loyalty to the Mizukage.

It was sometime before noon when Team Sigma finally approached their destination. Taiji was a moderately sized town built across a vasty, polluted inlet. Large wooden piers criss-crossed over the water, and rows of small huts crammed up against each other. Thick hatch covered most of the buildings, and dozens of small boats bobbed further out on the inlet. The largest building rising up from the town as a warehouse built on the side of the cliff on the other side of Taiji. Made from metal and rising far beyond any other building, a lot of activity seemed to be centred on it, and many other smaller buildings had been put up around it. A large canal had been dug out of the ground on the other side of the warehouse, and a moderately-sized cargo ship was slowing leaving the warehouse, carrying its goods to an unknown destination.

Rat led the team closer to the city, stopping at what looked like an abandoned hut at the edge of the city. Hidden behind the foliage of some shrubs, it blended into the background was almost undetectable unless you were standing right on it. Rat stopped at the entrance of the safe house and turned to Naruto.

"I will need to enter the city in order to meet my contact," he told them monotonously. "I suggest that you and your team take defensive positions around this location and await my return."

"Understood," Naruto replied after a few moments. A slight frown crossed his face behind his mask. "But I'm going to come with you."

Rat cocked his head. Nonetheless, he nodded his consent as Naruto turned to his team.

"Kage, you're in operational command until I return," Naruto ordered. "Wait here. If we haven't sent word by midnight, assume the worst."

"Yes, sir," Kage responded. He gave a few curt commands to the rest of the team and many of them disappeared into the foliage surrounding them.

Rat motioned for Naruto to follow him and they entered the dark safe house. It was more of a safe cubby than a safe house, with barely enough room for the two of them. A large wooden crate with rusty hinges lay on one side of the room, while a small hammock had been put up on the other side. Rat opened the crate and began to pull out some rags.

"Get changed," Rat commanded.

Naruto pressed his finger on his tattoo and resealed his ANBU uniform. The moment his mask left his face, the unfiltered air hit his nose and he made a face. The smell was absolutely foul, reeking of thick, sickly-sweet air and a pungent odour coming from all around them. It wasn't until he was changing into the provided rags that Naruto noticed that it was coming from his new clothes. He made no comment as Rat got changed next to him, although he idly noticed that the man's lean body was covered in scars and burns.

As he was covering his hair with thick, smelly mud, Rat approached Naruto with a small box in his hand.

"Your voice patterns would give away your cover," the ANBU tracker said. "I will craft scar tissue around your throat. For all intent and purposes, you are now mute."

Naruto nodded and lifted up his head as Rat deftly dab at his neck with the make-up. It tingled on his skin and felt thick and heavy. Once Rat was done, Naruto gingerly touched it and felt a surprisingly rough piece of scar tissue around his throat. He finished wrapping around a grimy bandage around his upper-arm, hiding the crimson tattoo behind it while Rat picked up a knobby walking stick.

Their disguises complete, Naruto surveyed his form one last time. The rags wrapped around his body made him seem somewhat emancipated and the grime and mud in his hair hid a lot of his features. For all intent and purposes, he looked like a poor, crippled, beggar boy. The followed Rat dutifully out of the safe house and began to approach the town.

A small gate had been built on the main road leading out of Taiji, and three men wearing flak-vests and Kiri headbands loitered in the front of it. The lead shinobi them coming and straightened up, looking vaguely interested as the two disguised ANBU approached.

"Papers," he grunted.

Rat nodded quickly, his hands shaking as he reached into his robes. The tremors were quite noticeable, and the Kiri-Nin frowned as he snatched the papers from Rat's trembling hands. He surveyed them with a frown, although understanding dawned on his face and when he handed it back he looked a little sympathetic.

"This seems to be in order," he said somewhat kindly. He was a tall man, grizzled and tough, but there was a glint of compassion as he regarded the two apparent travellers. "Move along, old timer."

"T-t-thankyou," Rat rasped out, his voice hoarse and trembling. "G-Glory to the M-Mizukage!"

"Glory to the Mizukage," the shinobi responded echoed.

Rat took the fraudulent papers back, placed them in his robes and limped on forward, leaning heavily on his stick. Naruto followed him, head ducked down in apparent shyness, and he kept his ears open as he continued.

"What was that about?" one of the other shinobi muttered.

"He's a Survivor from the Slaughter of Koyabashi," the first Jonin replied sympathetically. "A former Chunin who took a lungful of Melting Mist- nasty stuff, that shit is."

"Fuck!" the third shinobi swore in surprise. "Isn't that the same shit the Kaguya used at the Black Cliffs?"

"I knew a guy from Fifth Battalion," the second shinobi told them, his voice dimming as Naruto and Rat limped away from them. "He was never the same afterwards."

"What about the boy?" the asked third shinobi, his voice faint.

"Just a war-brat," the first shinobi said dismissively. Whatever else they said trailed off into the wind as Naruto and Rat entered the town, ready to begin their search.

The smell inside Taiji only grew more repugnant as they travelled over the rickety, wet piers. Unlike most places Naruto had visited, this town lacked the proper sewerage facilities, and he saw an old, weathered woman tip a bucket of human waste into the water below them. The piers were old- many of the boards were rotten and falling to pieces, but the locals stepped over them with well-practised ease.

Naruto kept his head down, trailing after the hobbling rat and hiding his features behind the dirty rags, but surveyed everything around him with a keen gaze. The poverty of this place was quite apparent. Many of the populace wore less than he did with tattered rags wrapped around their waist and their thin, bony chests exposed to the elements. Mosquitoes buzzed around them, and many of the men and women smelt worse than the putrid water. Dirty, bright-eyed kids darted about the buildings, some running errands or doing small chores while others played with each other.

The sound was something else. Naruto had never heard so much cursing and swearing in his life. The workers around them shuffled around in small groups, hollering loudly at each other as they passed the two undercover ANBU, spitting thick wads of black tar-like substances out of their mouths and into the water. A nearby woman wearing way too much makeup and showing an indecent amount of cleavage emptied a bag of rubbish into the water below. An old woman, sitting outside her battered, tiny shack, hummed mindlessly to herself as she clicked her knitting needles together, while a tiny, pink-faced babe wailed loudly beside her.

It was one of the most interesting places Naruto had ever visited. It was so much different from the cultured capital of the Land of Fire, from the vastness of the Manufactorium, or the sleepy villages around Konoha- and not necessarily different in a good way. Naruto passed a bloated, floating corpse just bobbing up and down on the water beneath the pier he was standing on. Milky white eyes stared blankly up at him, a terrified expression permanently twisted on the dead man's face.

No, this was not a good place at all.

Rat led them towards the warehouse, crossing over metal bridge onto the bank on the other side and approaching it. The architecture around them changed almost instantly as they moved away from the residential slums and towards the modern industrial sector. Great plumes of smoke rose from the chimneys around him, and the streets were paved with cobbled stone. The warehouse loomed up ahead, dominating the skyline and overshadowing all of the other small buildings around it. A constant flow of boats, some small and some large, flowed in and out of the large open warehouse, depositing their goods and leaving as quick as they had come.

From what information had been able to gather, the warehouse served as a distribution centre for over fifty small islands in the surrounding area. Some of them were single farmhouses, while others were towns the size of slum of Taiji. Each of them was required to pay a regular tithe to the shinobi forces of the Mizukage, and it would all be collected here before being loaded onto huge container ships and departing for Kirigakure. Fish, clams, dried seaweed, livestock and grains, pearls and coloured coral- a lot of the expensive imports of the Land of Water were taken under threat of force for little to no cost.

Rat and Naruto entered the warehouse, avoiding the busy workers. A dozen piers had been built into it, extending out to the water, and crates and parcels were unloaded from the docked boats and carried away. Hundreds of people were working around them, but Rat ignored them all, hobbling over to a man in a yellow hard-hat. He was short and squat, with an ugly face that's nose had been broken one too many times. As they approached, he glanced up at them with a scowl.

"G-Greetings, kind sir," Rat stuttered meekly. His hands twisted nervously, and he licked his lips. For somebody who had come off as quite expressionless, his act seemed genuine. "I am b-but a humble w-worker, l-looking for…"

"You!" the Foreman snapped, his voice surprisingly deep. He brandished his clipboard angrily at Rat. "I told you to fuck off months ago! You have some fucking nerve coming back here, you cockhead!"

"I-I don't u-underst…" Rat began.

"I've got no work for dirty cheats!" the Foreman bellowed. He gestured furiously at them. "You stole 1800 grams of titanium dust from the crates, I fucking know you did! Get out! Get out now, and may the sea-serpents strip you of your flesh and grind down your bones!"

Rat made a squeaking noise, turned around and hurriedly hobbled away. Naruto gave one last lingering look to the foreman and turned to follow the infiltrator. Outside, they leaned against one of the walls, far away from anybody else.

_: Message received :_ Rat signed beneath his cloak, visible to only Naruto. _: Rendezvous with Resistance contact at1800 hours- slaughterhouse :_

_: Understood :_ Naruto signed. He slumped against the wall, hidden by the shadow of the warehouse and away from the view of the street. _: Send a message to Team Sigma. We'll wait. :_

* * *

><p>The sun had begun to set and a brilliant pinkish, orange glow had filled the sky. It was quite the beautiful sight, highlighting a clump of storm clouds far in the distance. With the light bouncing off the water, it almost made the inlet look beautiful as the light sparkled the thousands of glass bottles bobbing up and down on the surface of the water.<p>

Naruto straightened up and exchanged a glance with Rat. Taking a deep breath, and ignoring the stench of the surroundings, the two ANBU slunk out of the shadows and approached the meeting point. During the time they had been waiting, they had investigated their rendezvous point. It was one of the smaller buildings tucked underneath the shadow of the warehouse. A small, separate path led from the back of the warehouse to the slaughterhouse, allowing workers to shepherd the newly-arrived livestock to their deaths. It was a mostly-automated system, run by a complex set of machines that spun blades and removed grinded up grizzle.

The two entered the slaughterhouse, the stench of fresh, bloodied meat quite apparent. The machines still whirred and whined, but there wasn't a soul in sight. Rat and Naruto walked past the machines and the assembly track, keeping a careful eye on their surroundings.

It was a tense situation, and Naruto didn't like it. It wasn't as if he thought Rat was untrustworthy- he certainly seemed to have the Hokage's confidence, but he didn't like going into things unprepared. Besides, it had been a long time since Rat had had contact with the Resistance. Maybe things had changed. Maybe their contact had been turned, or was working with the Loyalists.

This would be an excellent site for an ambush, and there would be little Naruto could do to keep the secrecy of his mission intact if they were attacked. It would inevitably lead to pandemonium if they had to fight their way out, and while he was confident that Team Sigma could handle the calibre of the Kiri-Nin he had seen so far, he wasn't so keen on taking on reinforcements that would surge towards him at the first hint of trouble.

Suddenly, a loud clanging noise echoed around the slaughterhouse. The whirring machines around them began to die down and several of the lights went out. Naruto tensed, his fingers twitching, but he had no weapons to grip. He kept his eyes around them, becoming very still as silhouettes started to appear around them.

First one, and then three, and then a dozen- they were surrounded. Hidden in the shadows, it was hard to see the newcomers. Beside him, Rat made no attempt to hide or take a defensive position, so Naruto exhaled softly and lowered his arms. His heart was racing, his mouth dry.

Loud footsteps approached them, a single pair of legs. A figure emerged from the shadows, her arms folded over a rather bountiful chest and a rather amused looking expression on her face. Beautiful, long, crimson hair swayed down to her waist, covering a lot of her dirty flak-vest. A lock of hair covered up much of the right side of her face, while her left green eye glinted somewhat dangerously. Brown bandages were wrapped around her forearms, and she wore a set of dark pants and sandals.

From what Naruto could tell, she was beautiful, buxom, and _incredibly _dangerous. He had read profile reports on notable shinobi in the Land of Water, and he had even seen a poorly-captured grainy photograph of her before.

Terumi Mei of the Resistance eyed the two undercover ANBU in front of her. "Well, well, well," she practically purred. "I thought I had something scurrying about. What can the Resistance do for its favourite little Rat?"


	47. Operation HURRICANE: Part IV

**A/N: Thanks to DLP for their help with this chapter. I've got the next one down, just needs some final tweaking before I upload it, a**nd hopefully I'll have the one after it done by the end of the week. I was kind of hoping to end the arc on Chapter 50, but it looks it might not be done until Chapter 52. The arc after this will be the last of the story, so this may come to a close at roughly 400k words.****

****God, I need to get a life.****

****Well, enjoy.****

* * *

><p><strong>Operation HURRICANE Part IV<strong>

* * *

><p>According to the classified and heavily censored information that Naruto had been allowed to access prior to the mission, Terumi Mei was one of the most powerful shinobi in the Land of Water. A dual- bloodline wielder, she was capable of utilising extremely powerful <em>Lava Release<em> and _Boil Release _techniques to great effects. How a bloodline such as Lava Release, which was native to the Land of Earth, had ended in the Land of Water was much cause of speculation. As far as Konoha sources knew, there was no record of a 'Terumi' bloodline clan, and some analysts suggested that she was most likely the bastard offspring of an Iwa-Nin and a Land of Water native.

Nonetheless, her possible origins weren't quite as interesting as her present activities. Terumi Mei was one of the leading shinobi within the Resistance, and perhaps their strongest. Her techniques were devastatingly powerful and quite likely some of the strongest in the world. She was courageous and calm in battle and an inspiring leader to her soldiers. It was suggested that she was one of the few shinobi within the Resistance that could possibly go toe-to-toe with the Fourth Mizukage, and although rumours persisted of such a battle, no credible information had been gathered.

She was powerful. She was beautiful. She was _extremely dangerous._

And she was standing in front of two undercover ANBU operatives from Konoha, her arms folded, smiling slightly as she regarded them with gleaming eyes. Her long crimson hair covered part of her face, but the rest displayed an emotion that could have been mistaken for amusement, were it not for the dozen soldiers she had surrounded them with.

"Terumi-sama," Rat greeted coolly, seemingly unfazed by the sudden appearance of what could possibly be an S-rank shinobi. "I was unaware that you yourself would be meeting with us."

Mei smiled. It was a beautiful smile, but it sent an involuntary shiver down Naruto's back. "How could I stay away when I heard my favourite pet was in town?" She responded huskily. She leaned forward, giving Rat a smouldering look. "You've been gone for so long, I was beginning to think you didn't care."

Rat didn't respond, and he seemed unconcerned with the woman's suggestive smile and overt behaviour. Naruto remained where he was, keeping his face as blank as possible. Mei's emerald-green eyes flickered over to him, and despite her appearance and tone so far, when she raked her eyes up and down his body, Naruto was sure that the woman had just calmly and quickly analysed every single facet of his appearance.

The blond shifted on his feet, slightly moving his head to exchange a look with Rat. Rat nodded imperceptibly and Naruto cleared his throat, taking a step forward.

"Terumi Mei," he began, but then he had to stop as Mei gasped.

"Oh, my!" she murmured, holding her hands to her cheeks and looking positively scandalised. "You're so _young_!" Her crimson lips widened and she subtly angled her body towards him suggestively. "What's a cute little boy doing in a place like this?"

Naruto felt a flicker of annoyance at being referred to as a 'little boy', but he brushed it aside. It was exactly what this woman wanted from him, and he made a mental note to amend her file when he returned to Konoha. Mei seemed to enjoy trying to get a rise out of others.

"I am here representing a third party," Naruto began as tonelessly as possible. "We are searching for a man who was last seen working for the Resistance. You may know him. His name is Yamashita Kazuya."

Mei nodded thoughtfully at the name. "It may ring a bell," she murmured. She gave them a slow, lazy smile. "But it's hard to tell. Just out of curiosity though- what would a pair of black-ops _boys_ like you want with such a man?"

"We've been hired to retrieve him from the Land of Water and take him home," Naruto answered. "Purely for his own protection," he added sincerely. "We're here to help him."

Mei considered that. "What if…" she began, licking her lips. "What if such a man, if I knew him, didn't want to leave?"

"Our client was very insistent," Naruto replied. He gave Mei a level stare. "He needs to come home."

Mei made a 'tsk' noise. "See, that won't do," she told them cheerfully. Her tone took on a slight-edge, and her ever-present smile dimming somewhat. "You see, if I knew such a man, I'm sure he would be a great asset to the Resistance," Mei continued. "He would be a good man trying to help the people who needed it the most. He would want to stay here, where he could do the most good, and he wouldn't care what his family wanted."

She raised her hand and snapped her fingers, and suddenly the dozen shinobi that lay in the shadows stirred, each taking a single step forward. Naruto drew back, eyes flickering all around him, and the chakra welled up beneath his skin. His fists tightened as he mentally calculated their odds, revising exactly which techniques he would use if needed.

Mei looked as care-free and relaxed as possible, but there was something dangerous in her smile.

"Just as I don't care what your client wants," the redhead continued. She uncrossed her arms and jabbed a finger in Naruto's direction. "This is the Land of Water. The affairs of the outside don't mean anything here. Your client, no matter how powerful, means nothing. _ You_ mean nothing. Don't forget that."

Naruto took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, trying to think of another way to approach this. During the short break, Rat intervened.

"We have done much to help the Resistance," the black-ops operative said quietly. Mei shifted her burning emerald gaze to the oldest of the pair. "We have supplied you with weapons, gathered importance intelligence for you, conducted surgical strikes against the Mizukage's forces." He made a motion with his hand. "These are no little things."

Now Mei's smile disappeared completely, and her face was completely smooth and emotionless.

"Are you suggestion that we're indebted to you?" Mei asked in barely more than a whisper.

Rat cocked his head. "Precisely that," he replied stoically. "So far, we have asked for nothing."

It seemed to be getting a bit warmer, a remarkable fact given the humidity, and the air around the redhead seemed to be shimmering. At the very edge of his senses, Naruto could feel a massive well of power building up. Truly, the woman in front of him was powerful.

"Operations into the Land of Water are to resume shortly," Rat continued unhurriedly, unaware or unconcerned with Mei's rapidly darkening mood. Her face looked as if it were carved from marble. "We are prepared to once again assist the Resistance with their fight. Yamashita Kazuya may be an asset to your cause, but I'm sure that we would be an ever greater one.

Mei considered that. By the look on her face and the narrowing of her eyes, the unvoiced threat had not gone unnoticed. As per the Hokage's instructions, if the Resistance would not cooperate in the retrieval of the target, Team Sigma was fully authorised to officially pull any further support. It was a cruel, underhanded tactic. The Resistance needed all of the help it could get, and couldn't afford to alienate any international aid that was being offered to them.

"Of course we would welcome your support," Mei responded after a few moments. Her voice had brightened, but for a moment, Naruto thought there may have been something like a trace of bitterness in her reply. "However, I'm not quite sure we can rely on it."

She folded her arms, giving Rat a pointed look.

"Your team left right in the middle of a critical operation," she said quietly. Her eyes narrowed. "We had to pull back. We lost Delta-Site, and Yagura was able to retake the depot. It set us back three months. It cost us lives."

"Unavoidable," Rat declared flatly. "We were recalled. Your orders do not take precedence over the orders of superiors."

Mei smiled pleasantly. "I'm sure it's a just coincidence that you left just as reports filtered into Kirigakure about an aerial bombardment over Konoha," she noted carelessly.

Rat didn't say anything, and Naruto gave a half-shrug.

"Konoha was weakened," he supplied. A faint smile crossed his face. "There was an opportunity, however brief, to take action. Our Village wanted all forces available just in case."

"I see." Judging by the knowing smile, it was obvious that Mei didn't believe them.

Officially, the Resistance were unaware of just who was supplying them with aid. If they were to win, naturally Konoha would reveal themselves to the new leadership and reap the diplomatic benefits. If the Resistance were to lose, however, there could be no evidence that Konoha had been involved in any revolutionary action.

Unofficially, Naruto was pretty sure that Mei had a fair idea on exactly which Village both he and Rat came from.

"In any case, trust was broken," Mei said. She smiled at them and leaned forward, giving Naruto a little wink. "I think you might need to do something to help rebuild that trust."

"Are you really in a position to negotiate?" Naruto asked bluntly.

"Are you really in a position to refuse?" Mei countered smoothly. "You need me to help complete your mission. I know your target and his familial connections. The reward for the completion of this mission must be substantial for your village to risk such an operation. You won't get it without my help."

"We've assisted your forces before, and we're prepared to do it again," answered Naruto, a frown crossing his face.

"So, if we help you now, you _might_ help us in the future?" Mei smiled coyly, and shook her head. "Oh, no, if you want our help now, then you'll have to do something for us _now_."

"What do you want?" Naruto asked bluntly.

The sun outside the deserted slaughterhouse was going down, and the only light inside came from the dim lighting from the various machines around them. The members of the Resistance around them remained alert and tense, and Rat held back as Naruto and Mei regarded each other challengingly, the latter running a hand through her long, red hair.

Mei pondered, raising a finger to her chin thoughtfully. "You know, I don't really know," she answered cheerfully. "I'm sure you two and the other six operatives you have outside the town would be able to assist us with something."

Naruto stilled, something Mei noticed immediately, and her smile widened.

"Oh, I know," she exclaimed with a snap of her fingers. She gestured at Naruto. "We're going to be running a little mission in the next couple of days. You can help us with that."

"What type of mission?" Naruto asked cautiously.

"There's a factory on a nearby island," Mei answered. She licked her lips. "Most of the supply lines have been broken, so Yagura's had to start making his own weapons. We haven't had a shipment from the Manufactorium in years, yet somehow, Yagura's forces always have bulk quantities of explosive tags, and they're coming from that factory."

Naruto's eyes widened.

"It's very annoying," Mei continued. She shook her head thoughtfully. "I have no idea where he got the technology."

"Oh, I've seen it around," Naruto murmured.

He ignored Mei's speculative gaze as a prickling sensation ran up his arms. He had seen the technology before in the form of a small, portable printing press. Although he wasn't quite sure how it worked, he knew that it was the first machine capable of printing explosive tags of bulk found outside the huge facilities of the Manufactorium. It was a game-changer- and it had come from the enemy, the enigmatic orange-masked man who had been at the forefront of Konoha's problems for the last few months.

Did _he_ have something to do with the situation in the Land of Water?

Naruto broke out of his thoughts and shook his heads. "We're not here to start a war," he replied firmly. "We don't have any orders to run missions against the Mizukage. I can't authorise this."

"We'll disguise you as Resistance members," Mei countered. She smiled beautifully down at him. "We're simply pressed for manpower in this region. Eight more skilled shinobi would easily turn the tide in our favour."

Naruto glanced at Rat, who stared back at him blankly. The Captain's mind was churning furiously as he considered his prospects. Sasuke and Daichi were out- if worst came to worst and there were casualties, their bloodlines would automatically reveal Konoha's presence in the Land of Water. Towa had been imprinted with a sealing technique of Konoha's design, so he couldn't participate either, and he would need to leave a senior Jonin- either Kage of Komachi- in command.

"I could supply you with a squad of four," Naruto said carefully.

Mei smiled.

"But I want to see our target first," Naruto finished. He gave Mei a steady look. "That's non-negotiable. I won't authorise anything without seeing our mission priority."

Mei nodded. "Very well," she replied. She gestured to the doorway. "We'll go and retrieve the rest of your team, and then you can follow us. I'll take you to him now."

* * *

><p>Naruto and Rat followed Mei and her forces out of the slaughterhouse. Their rendezvous hadn't drawn any attention, and they were quite easily able to slip out of the town without drawing any notice. They were in a fairly remote region, and while the Mizukage had increased security in the area since the discovery of Resistance activity, it had mostly been a token force of undertrained shinobi led by handful of experienced officers.<p>

The sky was a mixture of orange and purple, and it cast a beautiful glow down on the water surrounding the large island. Sticking to the shadows, the group of revolutionaries avoided guards and patrols and approached the safe-house where the rest of Team Sigma waited. Mei and her shinobi paused at the perimeter, while Naruto and Rat went on ahead.

Daichi had obviously alerted the rest of the team because they were waiting for them as Naruto entered the clearing around the tiny safe-house. The blond approached Kage, who nodded respectfully at Naruto's return.

"Captain," the older man greeted coolly. As he spoke, his fingers flashed. _: Unknown shinobi contact at perimeter :_

"We've brought company," Naruto responded, his fingers flashing in reply. _: Established contact with local Resistance cell – we will be lead to the mission priority :_

"Understood." Kage nodded. He gestured to the rest of the team. "We are ready to move out."

"Follow me," Naruto commanded. _: Assume double-triad formation– relations with Resistance are strained– prepare for possible ambush :_

He led the rest of Team Sigma back to the Resistance. Naruto, Kage and Towa took the lead, while Sasuke, Yuuka and Daichi took the rear, with Rat and Komachi in the centre, ready to redeploy and assist each fire-team if necessary. They met with Mei in the tree line, the beautiful redhead waiting patiently. Four grim-faced shinobi flanked her, and Naruto caught sight of several others in the trees around them. He had counted at least eleven Resistance members, and with his team backing him up, the odds were much more even now should the worst occur.

"After you," Naruto said dryly, gesturing at Mei.

Mei placed a hand on her cheek. "What a polite young man," she beamed. She gave Naruto a flirtatious wink. "Follow me, Captain Cutie."

Naruto stared blankly after her as she turned and began to lead them out of forest. As Team Sigma followed the Resistance members, the blond captain kept surveying his surroundings, trying to place their location and movement to the map he had memorised. As he did so, he caught Yuuka's hands flashing at Daichi.

_: - ..don't like her :_ Yuuka's movements were sharp. _: Stealing my nickname, that's just - :_

The Yamanaka must have felt Naruto's gaze because her head shot up. At the slight, puzzled tilt of his head, Yuuka's hands dropped and she shook her head. Naruto frowned behind his mask but turned around, continuing the silent journey through the island.

The Resistance either had extremely good sensors amongst them, or they knew the movements of the loyalist shinobi forces very well, because they didn't encounter a single one as they travelled south towards the coast. Instead of sinking below the waves, Mei lead the group on top of the water and they sprinted along the swells. The Resistance members did it much better than the undercover ANBU, using an interesting variation of water-walking that almost looked like water-skiing. It was a tiring journey for some, less so for Naruto who had chakra to burn, and he could practically feel the relief emanating from some of the Chunin in his squad when the dot of land they were approaching grew larger and larger.

By the time they arrived at the beach, night have overtaken them. They were far away from the light pollution of the large villages and cities, and the thousands of stars above them shone down on them beautifully. The water around them gleamed with the reflected light, and the full moon cast a brilliant glow down on them. With the sound of the lapping waves around them and the drop in temperature, the island felt like a perfect holiday destination.

The arrival of twenty shinobi somewhat spoiled the ambience. Naruto signalled his team to stop as they came to rest at the head of the beach. It rose up in a slope, and beyond that they could see a few twinkling lights in the distant. The wind brushed gently against his hair as he approached Mei. From his mental calculations, they had travelled a two-hundred and forty kilometres south-east towards one of the countless smaller islands of the Land of Water archipelago.

"We're here," Mei said cheerfully. She shook her long mane of hair, smoothing out some of the water, and pointed at the twinkling lights. "That's where we'll find our friend."

She pointed at one of shinobi and her fingers twisted. It was gibberish to Naruto, but obviously meant something to the shinobi because he nodded and disappeared into the darkness.

"Just letting them know that we're coming," Mei answered Naruto's unspoken question. "Your squad should probably hang back- no need to scare the poor man."

Naruto nodded in acquiescence.

"You might want to consider taking off your mask, too," Mei added. "It's very scary~"

"I can't do that," Naruto responded shortly.

Mei pouted. "How disappointing," she practically purred. She reached out and Naruto resisted the urge to flinch as she ran her fingertips down the smooth, white porcelain. "I bet you're a cutey underneath that thing."

One part of Naruto knew exactly what the older woman was trying to do, and he even resented the attempt. He wasn't some green genin who was going to splutter out Village secrets at the slightest hint of female attention of flush of embarrassment. The other, smaller part idly noted that Mei was truly one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen, and he felt a flush of warmth spread through his body at her close proximity. He could practically feel her breath against her face despite his mask, and he cleared his throat and took a step backwards.

"My appearance is irrelevant," Naruto countered as coolly as possible.

Mei's smile was victorious as she leaned back, and she folded her arms. "No need to get testy," she remarked warmly. She gave him a wink. "I'm sure you're a very fine looking boy."

Naruto ignored her and turned back to his team. Despite their masks, he could practically feel the smirk on Towa's face, and Yuuka seemed strangely subdued.

_: Towa, take watch :_ Naruto ordered with a hint of dark satisfaction. Towa acknowledged his orders with a small, resigned sigh. _: Stand down and rest – I'll approach the target alone – you'll know if I need backup :_

The rest of the squad acknowledged his orders as Naruto turned back to Mei. If this was some kind of ambush or trap, or if he and his squad were in danger, they would all know soon enough. He had no intention of going down quietly- if worst came to absolute worst, the chakra of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox would hopefully be enough to break through any attack and allow Team Sigma to retreat.

Mei's messenger returned, and the redhead turned to Naruto.

"Shall we?" she asked.

Naruto followed Mei, and the two of them left the little beach. After a few minutes, they approached a small little farmstead. A couple of fenced-off fields stretched out beyond it, and rows of crops grew up past Naruto's height. There was a small shed to the left, and he could hear the rustle of animals- a dozen or so sheep, by the look of it. The house was rather small, made of white-painted wood, and a small vegetable garden grew at the front.

All in all, it looked like a nice and quiet place to live- even if it was located in the middle of a war-torn country under the brutal rule of a genocidal Jinchuuriki.

Mei climbed up the stairs to the porch with Naruto by her side, and she knocked on the door. There was movement from the windows, the curtains rustling, and then footsteps approached the other side of the door. It opened, revealing a slender woman. Her skin was bronze from exposure to the sun, her teeth were brilliantly white, and her bleached blonde hair fell past her shoulders. Blue eyes stared at Naruto in mistrust, and she wordlessly stepped aside, allowing the two shinobi to enter.

Naruto walked into the house and the smell of flowers and incense bypassed his mask's filters. Candles burned in little alcoves in the walls, providing a soft glow around the house. They were led to the kitchen to a small dining table. Half-finished plates had been stacked on the bench, and a gas-lamp burned on the centre of the table. On the other side was a large, dark-skinned man. His shaggy white hair had been cropped, his muscular, tanned arms were folded and his dark eyes regarded them carefully. He wore a simple vest and pants, and his feet were bare.

"It's nice to see you again, Mei," Yamashita Kazuya said. He eyed Naruto with an indecipherable look. "I'm not so sure about the company you're keeping, mind you."

Mei shrugged. "He was very insistent on meeting you," she explained with an easy smile.

"Well, go on," Kazuya prompted. He didn't look impressed. "You wanted my attention. Well, you've got it."

"My team and I have been hired to retrieve you from the Land of Water and escort you home," Naruto said politely. "We're glad to see that you're in good health, especially given the state of the Land of Water and the fall of the Water Court."

"My health is fine," Kazuya replied crisply. "And I have no intention of returning home. I'm sorry for wasting your time."

Naruto paused. "My client was very insistent that you come home," he said carefully.

There was a tense silence. Next to him, Mei was silent, and the kitchen suddenly felt very small.

"I'm not going," Kazuya repeated firmly. He stood up. "You need to leave now."

Naruto didn't move. His mind was racing, and he was very well aware of Mei's presence next to him.

"Is there any particular reason you don't want to come with us?" he asked, ignoring the order to leave.

Kazuya frowned. "Yes," he responded shortly, but he refused to elaborate.

"I see," Naruto answered quietly. He bit his lip. "Our orders did state that if you didn't want to come willingly, we were able to forcefully retrieve you."

Kazuya straightened, his face darkening, and Mei mildly cleared her throat next to him.

"That might be a mistake," she suggested neutrally.

Naruto exhaled noisily. "I understand why you wanted to stay," he told Kazuya. "I've been to the wall. I've seen the runners. I've even helped save a few. What's happening here is horrible. But really, what can you do here?"

"I do whatever I can," Kazuya retorted firmly. "I help the Resistance with anything they need."

"You could do more at home," Naruto suggested earnestly. Kazuya opened his mouth, but Naruto continued on hurriedly. "Your uncle holds you in high regard. He misses you. He believes you are a good person. You have influence over him. If you go home, you can do more for the Resistance and the people of the Land of Water there than you could ever possibly do here."

A flicker of doubt crossed Kazuya's face, but the stubbornness returned.

"I said no," he snapped, his voice rising. "I'm not going."

Naruto, who had been eying the surroundings, took a deep breath. "And what about your children?" he asked. Kazuya jerked as if struck, and Naruto pointed to the half-finished plates on the bench. "There are four plates- one for you, one for your wife, and two smaller portions for your children. Is this the kind of place you want to raise them?"

Kazuya was silent.

"What do you think will happen to them if the Mizukage discovers your loyalties?" Naruto pressed on.

"The Resistance will protect us," Kazuya shot back.

Mei was strangely silent.

"What if the Resistance lose?" Naruto continued resolutely. "What if they can't make it in time?" He leaned forward intently. "I've seen what the Hunters do to traitors. There's no mercy, even for the children. I've seen babies impaled on swords, children cut down-"

"Stop trying to scare me!" Kazuya voice rose into an angry bellow, and he slammed his hands down on the table. "I know what they do! I was there for the fall of the Water Court, the massacre of Hook Bay, and the sacking of Shimmukappu! I've_ seen_ things!"

"You need to consider-"

"I'm not going!" Kazuya continued, interrupting Naruto. He glared at the masked boy. "And even if you manage to force me to come, the moment I get back, I'll be sending a message to the Fourth Mizukage! I'll let everybody know what happened- I'll make it a public event! What do you think your village would think about that?"

Naruto took a deep breath.

"Then consider this," he responded coldly. "My Village has been supplying the Resistance with aid for years. We've sent teams in to help fight against the Mizukage. Apparently we've been very useful."

Kazuya glanced at Mei, who nodded shortly.

"If you don't come with us, our Village isn't sending any more teams in," Naruto continued. He jabbed a finger in Kazuya's direction. "No more aid. No more supplies. No more shinobi. That will all be on your head."

Kazuya looked stricken. He turned to Mei, a pleading expression on his face.

"Mei…" He began.

Mei shook her head, her voice sympathetic. "I can't control the decisions of his village," she answered quietly. "We don't need them, but their assistance is very much welcome. That said, the decision is up to you." She placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "You've helped us in the past and we owe you a lot. If you decide to stay and they pull out, we would _still_ be in your debt."

Kazuya glared at Naruto. "You bastard," he hissed furiously.

Naruto knew he was right. He felt a flash of guilt, but ruthlessly supressed it. "We can exfiltrate you and your family," he said soothingly. "Once you're back home, you can start rallying support for the Resistance. You might even be able to push for a Village-sanctioned operation. Nobody is very happy with what's going on here. You might be able to help create a unified task force."

"If I agreed…_If_," Kazuya stressed, "…then we would all have to go with you."

"We can take your family," Naruto assured.

Kazuya smiled tightly. "No, I mean all of us." He gestured out of the window. "I help run a series of hidden shelters on the surrounding islands. Political opponents of the Mizukage, bloodline children too young to fight, men and women opposed to the ideals of Kirigakure- I help shelter them all."

Naruto frowned. "How many?"

"Thirty-eight," Kazuya answered. He folded his arms. "If I'm going, we're all going. Those are my terms. No negotiation."

Naruto was shaking his head. "That's impossible," he said. "Four would work. Thirty-eight would be impossible. We can't possibly smuggle that many people out."

"Figure something out," Kazuya said dismissively. "And if you can't, then I won't be going anywhere. You can leave now."

Naruto hesitated, but he nodded grudgingly. "I'll be in touch," he murmured as he turned around.

Mei stayed behind for a few moments while Naruto walked back towards the beach, and then she caught up to him. She regarded him with a casual smile, looking seemingly at ease.

"You seem to be in a predicament," she noted cheerfully.

Naruto ignored her. He approached the beach and signalled to his team.

"Form a defensive perimeter," he called. "We'll be here for the night. Rat, come with me. We need to discuss our exit strategy."

"Are you really going to do it?" Mei asked curiously.

"Do I have a choice?" Naruto shot back in annoyance.

Mei chuckled. "Well, we'll stay here for the night as well. It's been a long day for us." She turned, relaying a series of orders to her forces, only stopping to look over her shoulder. "Don't do anything foolish. It would be a terrible shame if any incidents were to occur."

"It would be," Naruto agreed softly. "Your loss would be a devastating blow to the Resistance."

Mei actually laughed at that. "Bold _and_ funny. I like you."

Naruto ignored her as he walked away.

* * *

><p>It was past midnight, and despite several hours of strategizing, Naruto still hadn't formed a plan he was happy with. Trying to leave the Land of Water with a small group was definitely possible. They could leave the same way they came, each operative carrying an extra person. There was enough surplus equipment to outfit Kazuya and his family with everything necessary to survive the long underwater journey from the Land of Water back to the Land of Waves- although the civilians would have found it much less comfortable than the shinobi.<p>

Thirty-eight people, however, were beyond them, and Naruto couldn't devise any other strategy that he was confident in. It would have been easy to commandeer a ship, but then the Kiri-Nin would have been on them as soon as the alert was raised and it would have been a fighting retreat back into friendly territory. The only shipping lane to the mainland led directly to Bloody Cove, and that was a fortress of Kiri-Nin, and it would be virtually impossible to slip past them.

In the end, Naruto was forced to concede that he was going to need some help.

"Mei," Naruto called as he approached the Resistance camp.

The two forces had camped on either side of the small beach they had landed on. Team Sigma kept a very careful watch on the ocean and the other Resistance shinobi, and Naruto was sure that they were doing the same thing. The atmosphere was quite tense, and given how Mei had placed her forces, it was obvious that she suspected that Naruto might simply snatch Kazuya from his bed.

He had considered it.

But Mei was meant to be an extremely powerful shinobi. Intel on her was sparse, but anybody capable of fighting against a Kage-level opponent was somebody to be wary of. Even if Naruto could match her, the fight would undoubtedly be destructive and would surely attract the attention of loyalist forces.

Besides, Naruto personally approved of what Mei was doing. The Fourth Mizukage was a terrible person, and anybody fighting him was somebody to be respected. The last thing he wanted to do was weaken the Resistance and strength Yagura's regime.

Mei looked up, a slow, knowing smile spreading over her face. "Hello, my mysterious black-ops friend," she greeted. She patted the rock next to the one she was sitting on. "Sit. I'm sure we have lots to talk about."

Naruto sat down next to her and together they looked out at the dark ocean water. Some clouds had blotted out a lot of the moonlight, but there was still enough light available to see Mei's features. She looked quite amused, and Naruto steeled himself.

"If we're going to do this, then we're going to need the help of the Resistance," he admitted. "You know the land, the environment and the enemy better than we do."

Mei giggled and patted him on the back. "That must have hurt," she said sympathetically. She sighed. "I've been thinking about it, actually. It's possible, but we're going to need a distraction."

"What do you think?" Naruto asked.

"That weapons factory we're going to attack will be a good start," Mei elaborated. Her voice took on a slightly brisker tone. "We attack the factory together. Nearby forces will be on alert, and reinforcements will be diverted north. We split up. One group will perform a fighting retreat, distracting the enemy as long as possible. One group will head south, attacking a supply depot to draw even more attention, while one will head east. The group heading east will destroy a Kiri naval patrol, and then make for the mainland."

Naruto's eyes widened as he listened to Mei lay out her incredibly complex plan.

"At the same time, we'll commandeer the next freighter taking goods to the Bloody Cove. We have the latest flag signals, and we have men in the port. We'll load up the refugees and hide them in the carts. I'll arrange for my men to do the inspections, and then when we leave for the Hub, we'll dispose of our guard. It won't take them long to figure out what's going on, but by then the first group would have hit the mainland and we'll take out the communications post at Cape Wazaki. At the same time, a Resistance cell will infiltrate and destroy a weapons cache south of the Cove, and hopefully we'll draw out most of the experienced shinobi to our locations. We'll defeat them, retreat back to the border and rendezvous at the Hub."

There was a long silence.

"That's very…elaborate," Naruto said after a few moments. He gave her a considering look. "You're quite good at this."

Mei smiled. "I'm not just a pretty face," she said. "Although, my face _is_ very pretty." She winked at him, and Naruto was surprised with himself when he chuckled.

"It sounds good." He nodded thoughtfully. "I'll have to run it by my team and think about it, but it's better than anything we've come up with." He paused. "Why help us though?"

Mei shrugged. "A number of reasons," she answered. She held up a hand, ticking the points off her fingers. "It pisses Yagura off. It strengthens our cause. It'll be great for morale. We'll get an ally in the Lightning Court. Plus, it's always good when Konoha owes us one."

"Konoha?" Naruto asked as innocently as possible.

"Unless you've defected, I'm quite sure that you're from Konoha, Uzumaki Naruto," Mei said knowingly. She smiled at his stony silence. "Even Yagura's heard of you, and what he knows, we tend to find out pretty soon. You can disguise yourself as much as you want, but there's only so many short, young, powerful ANBU running around the world."

Naruto frowned.

"Besides," Mei added. "What other village would have the sheer nerve to strut into the Land of Water and act like they own the place?" It wasn't said with any hostility.

Naruto didn't deny or confirm her suspicions.

"Anyway, let's sleep on it." Mei changed the subject rather cheerfully. "We'll have a strategy meeting tomorrow and work out the finer details."

Naruto nodded and stood up.

"You're welcome to stay here," Mei called out invitingly as he departed. He shook his head and rolled his eyes, hearing her chuckles and feeling her eyes on him as he left.


	48. Operation HURRICANE: Part V

**Operation HURRICANE Part V**

* * *

><p>The night passed quickly. Team Sigma had set up a small encampment away from the beach, and many of them slumbered, wrapped up with camouflaged blankets. Daichi especially slept deeply, having exhausted himself with his constant use of the <em>byakugan<em>. Naruto took the chance to rest, but spent most of the night in conference with his team.

"A weapons factory and a communications post," Towa deadpanned. "Wow. She doesn't want much, does she? Was there anything else she wanted us to do, or was this going to be enough?"

"She did ask me to sleep with her," Naruto remarked offhandedly.

Next to him, Yuuka froze. Her mask was off, and she had paused mid-chew, a ration bar dangling from her fingers. Towa looked impressed, and gave Naruto a sleazy smirk.

"Nice," he whistled, then grimaced as Komachi elbowed him in the stomach.

"It was obviously a ploy," she snapped.

"Regardless," Naruto interjected with some amusement. "We need to work out how we're going to do this. Kazuya won't go without the rest of them, and we can't smuggle out 38 people without the Resistance's help."

"Could we snatch and grab?" Towa asked.

Naruto shook his head. "The Resistance won't let us, and they outnumber us," he answered. "Besides, I wouldn't want to take on Mei unless I really had to."

"Wouldn't want to hurt your new girlfriend?" Yuuka asked dryly.

"Might not be able to," Naruto replied seriously. He folded his arms over his chest. "She's one of the most powerful women I've ever met. From what we know of her, her _ninjutsu_ is extremely powerful- probably better than my own."

Rat nodded. "She is very skilled," he told them quietly. "I would suggest you do not make an enemy of her unless you have to."

"So we'll work within her plan," Naruto concluded. "This means we'll be working with her people, so you're going to need some temporary codenames. I don't want the Resistance knowing any more about us than they have to."

"Can we pick our names?" Towa asked eagerly.

Naruto gave him a deadpan expression. "Shut up, Number Four."

Towa considered it. "Could be worse," he muttered after a moment.

Naruto's lips twitched. "We'll do by seniority. I'm Number One, Kage is Number Two and Komachi is Number Three. Towa, you know, then Daichi is Number Five and Yuuka is Number Six. Sasuke can be Number Seven and Rat, since you're an attached advisor, you're Number Eight."

He leaned in, rubbing his hands together.

"Now, let's work out the details."

* * *

><p>By the time morning approached, Team Sigma had worked out most of the specifics for Mei's plan.<p>

"Good morning, my favourite little shinobi," Mei greeted as the sun began to rise. She winked at him as she approached the small camp, flanked by two members of the Resistance.

One was a relatively large man with three broad, blue-striped markings on his face. He wore a standard bodysuit, covered with a dark-blue robe with light blue trimming. His eyes were covered with tinted red googles, he wore a blue bandanna over his head, and a strange purple necklace was draped around his neck.

The other was a slender boy, only a few years older than Naruto. He had shorty, spiky black hair and black eyes, and was clad in black turtleneck and a dark-grey flak jacket. His face seemed to be twisted in a permanent scowl, but it seemed to deepen as he eyed the undercover agents.

Their leader, Mei, looked as stunning as ever. Her red hair spilled over her back and hid one of her green eyes from view, contrasting beautifully with her pale skin, and her flak jacket couldn't hide the woman's curves. She joined Naruto and gestured him to walk with her, while her two guards fell back to a respectful distance.

"I trust that you had a pleasant night?" Mei asked.

"Pleasant enough," Naruto answered.

The pair of them walked towards the beach, where the rising sun had made the ocean before them sparkle like diamonds. A soft, warm breeze blew around them, and the sound of waves lapping at the beach was quite relaxing. Despite the history and blood-shed of the Land of Water, Naruto could truly see the appeal in living here.

"Have you considered my proposal?" Mei asked as she stared out into the water.

Naruto gave a short nod. "We agree to your plan," he replied.

Mei looked pleased. "Then, let's go over the plan."

It was a curious group of shinobi that met at Kazuya's cottage. His wife had taken the family away, and Kazuya himself sat at the head of the living table, his arms folded. Both Mei and Naruto sat on the other side of the table, and surrounding them were over a dozen shinobi. They crowded around them, squashed in the small room, a mixture of Resistance and ANBU Operatives. The air, while not decidedly hostile, wasn't necessarily warm and friendly.

A map lay on the table before them, covered in tiny marks.

"Welcome to the joint briefing," Mei began, her lips twisting into a beautiful smile. "We're here to go over the particular details. 'Number One'," and here she looked extremely amused, "Meet one of my senior commanders, Chukichi."

One of her guards from before, the large man with the blue-striped cheeks and tinted glasses, gave a shallow nod of greeting.

"Chukichi will be leading bravo squad," Mei continued. "I will be leading Alpha Squad for the first half of the mission, and then my forces will relocate to our secondary objective while Number One continues on with the mission."

This had been a minor point of contention with Naruto, and he didn't like how Team Sigma was essentially subordinate to the Resistance commanders. Nonetheless, Mei had been adamant, and it did make sense. The Resistance knew the terrain better than they did, and they had a far greater understanding of the enemy, their tactics and composition, than Team Sigma did.

"Number Three, Number Six, Number Eight and I will be attached with Alpha Squad," Naruto spoke up. He gestured to the map. "We'll accompany Mei to the weapons factory here. Number Two, Four, Five and Seven will go with Bravo Squad. You'll commandeer the freighter _Atakebune_ departing from Taiji. Delta Squad will rendezvous with you _here_…" he jabbed at the map. "…and the packages will be loaded on."

"After the factory is destroyed, I'll take my forces and we'll split up," Mei continued. "I'll engage the enemy forces, hindering them as long as possible. One of my lieutenants will move south, attacking another loyalist installation. Number One will take his squad east, destroying a small naval patrol and commandeering a boat to make for the mainland. If we time it right, you should hit the mainland about fifteen minutes before the _Atakebune_- about 1420 hours."

"My squad will take out this communications post north of the Bloody Cove, up at Cape Wazaki," Naruto pointed at the map. His brow was furrowed behind his mask as he kept running through the numbers even as he spoke.

"Ao, another of my shinobi, will attack south of the Bloody Cove at 1425 hours, destroying a small weapons cache. With the simultaneous attack from the north and south, Kirigakure's ANBU, TIDE, will be forced to split up." Mei leaned back in her chair, smiling in satisfaction.

Naruto nodded. "The_ Atakebune_ should land at about 1435 hours, a few moments before the distress calls arrive at the port," he continued. "The Resistance has men on the inside that should be able to pass you through customs quickly. We'll distribute the packages around six merchant wagons, and by 1500 hours, you should be out of the city and on the way to the Hub. Once you've passed the border, my team will move north towards the Land of Waves, and go the long way into the Land of Fire. From there, we'll avoid local forces and escort our package into the Land of Lightning."

That last part was a lie. Mei may have known that they were from Konoha, but she didn't _know_, and Naruto wasn't going to do or say anything that will legitimise her suspicions.

"The Resistance will leave you there," Mei concluded. She moved forward, bringing up an arm to ruffle Naruto's hair, despite his annoyance. "And that could be the end of our relationship, my little cutie."

"What a shame," Naruto responded dryly.

Mei chuckled as Naruto turned to his team. It was impossible to determine their expressions, but none of the members of Team Sigma showed any visible signs of discontent. He eyed each of them and gave them a brief nod.

"We're on a timetable," he said quietly. "So make sure you synchronise your times. Otherwise, let's move out."

Mei chuckled as she stood. "My, my," she murmured, "This is going to be _fun._"

* * *

><p>It was a busy morning. Naruto had spent most of it going over the finer details of the mission with Kage, the leader of Team Sigma's detachment to Bravo Squad. Kazuya's little island cottage was becoming crowded as more Resistance members began to show up. Messages had been sent late last night to nearby cells, and they arrived not long after the mission briefing. It was as if Mei had already known that Naruto was going to agree to her proposition.<p>

It was either that, or she had been preparing just in case he had said _no._

Shinobi were divvied out. Mission groups were created. Supplies were given out. A small squad of Resistance shinobi left before the rest, travelling to the nearby islands where Kazuya had sheltered enemies of state so that they would be ready when the time comes. Finally, at noon, Alpha and Bravo squads were ready.

They gathered on the beach. Naruto stood next to Mei at the head of Alpha Squadron. Behind him, Komachi, Yuuka and Rat stood amongst six other Resistance shinobi. The spiky-haired teen from before was among them, as well as five others experienced-looking men and women. Next to them was Bravo Squad. Kage stood with Chukichi, and behind him was Sasuke, Daichi and Towa, as well as another five Resistance members. With a small team of five gathering up the refugees, and a team of eight preparing to strike on the mainland, there were almost forty shinobi involved in the mission.

Naruto had never been involved in an operation that utilised such numbers. Usually, it was him, with a small group such as Team Sigma backing him up. He found it hard to keep up with the numbers and strategies, and he was almost thankful that he wasn't in charge of the mission.

"Bravo Squad, are you ready?" Mei asked loudly.

Chukichi nodded, while many of the resistance shinobi nodded and murmured in assent. The Leaf-Nin amongst them were silent and motionless. Mei smiled at their response, and then the expression on her face turned somewhat nasty.

"Give them hell," she practically snarled, her emerald eyes gleaming.

Chukichi motioned, and the group of shinobi darted after him as they began to run across the water. Mei took a deep breath and turned back to Alpha Squad.

"We're on the clock," she told them determinedly. "We need to reach the weapons factory by 13:15. Stay alert, pace yourselves and get ready for combat. Alpha Squad, depart!"

* * *

><p>The journey towards the weapons factory was rather uneventful. They spent most of the time running over the water- or rather, the Leaf-Nin did. The Water-Nin used some kind of technique that looked like they were skating over the swells. Whatever it was, it seemed to much more efficient than water-walking, as Team Sigma seemed to be far more tired than the Resistance members as they rested halfway through the journey.<p>

Nonetheless, they made the one-hundred and thirty kilometre journey in good time, and soon they had arrived near the tip of the largest island in the Land of Water. They could tell they were arriving at the factory before it became visible. The water around them was soon littered with debris and rubbish, twisted plastic and half-melted barrels, and a terrible smell filled the air. Soon, on the coast ahead, a building began to loom.

It honestly seemed half-as-large as the Manufactorium, with dozens of tall, grey chimney stacks rising into the air. Large, concrete walls had been built around it, and a huge pier and port jutted out from the coast towards the sea. Huge plumes of black smoke rose into the air, and dim layer of smog began to cloud everything they could see. Small towns had been built around the walls, possibly containing the homes of the workers. A large freighter seemed to be slowly pulling into port, and dozens of tiny figures ran to and fro along the piers.

It was going to be a tough target to attack.

"Number One, break the enemies defence," Mei ordered them coolly. Her voice was brisk and toneless, and her usual smile was gone. "Kiri, prepare to move onto the primary targets. Give the timers a count of thirty and then detonate. I'll assist Number One's team."

Mei's route amongst the waves had kept them clear of loyalist shinobi, but their current course was going to lead them right into the factory. Clearly, this was going to be a full-on assault rather than any kind of stealth attack.

Naruto could feel his heart surging, his blood racing in his veins. His chakra hummed underneath his skin as he reflexively folded the chakra in on itself again and again, making it dense and more potent. The secret chakra exercise of the Third Hokage would give his _ninjutsu_ more power, and allow him to utilise combination techniques that would normally require a full squad.

In the distance, an alarm began to buzz, and the figures on the pier began to move away. They had been spotted.

"Allow me," Mei told Naruto as he began to make hand-seals.

He stopped as Mei's hands blurred and Naruto felt the shudder run down his back as an incredible amount of chakra built up within her. She reared her head back and spat out an enormous cloud of mist. It surged forward, much faster than the running shinobi, and shot over the docks. Whatever the mist touched, it corroded and ate away, and Naruto watched with some amazement as wood, metal and plastic simply melted and dissolved away. The mist continued to travel in towards the factory, and by the time Alpha Squad had arrived the melted, twisted remains of the dock, the next hundred metres in front of them was in ruins.

_Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet Technique!_

Naruto folded his chakra in on itself thrice, and condensed the resulting fire elemental chakra into a thin stream. It exploded from his mouth with enough force that made him take a step back, the sheer pressure of the super-charged, condensed flame creating a haze in the air all around him. The flame was a brilliant white and it hurt to look at as Naruto directed it at the enormous cargo ship that had docked on his right. His fire tore through the metal hull and moved downwards, splitting open the water with a hiss.

With a trembling groan, the back quarter of the container ship began to fall away from the rest of the vessel. Metal snapped and twisted as the remaining bolts and rivets were unable to hold the huge weight up, and it was with a terrible crash and a huge splash that the back of the ship fell into the water.

The rest of Alpha squad stayed behind Naruto and Mei as the two chakra powerhouses continued to advance towards the facility. The alarms continued to blare and in front of them the loyalist shinobi desperately tried to organise a defence behind their walls. A pair of solid metal gates began to close with a loud clank, but Mei merely tutted.

Again, and enormous amount of chakra built up into his companion, and Naruto watched as red-hot molten rock dribbled from her mouth, her pale skin seemingly unaffected by the searing heat that Naruto could feel. It solidified into multiple boulders of molten rock, and they were fired forward with tremendous force, as if shot by a catapult or trebuchet. The fiery boulders struck the walls and exploded in huge plumes of smoke and fire. Concrete cracked, and several parts of the wall fell away. One boulder struck the closing gates, and a huge pillar of fire exploded from where it had fallen. When the fire died down, all that was left of the gate was a twisted, blackened heap of debris.

_Lightning Release: Static Pulse Shot!_

Naruto threw out his hands and bolts of purple and blue crackling electricity blasted forward. A second later, the air was filled with the sound of rumbling thunder. The searing bolts of lightning went left and right, rising up and striking the cratered holes that Mei's technique had left in the walls. Concrete rumbled, and huge pieces the size of carts fell to the ground, making it shudder.

_Lightning Release: Electromagnetic Murder!_

Naruto jumped forward and slammed his hands in the ground. Chakra surged through him and his _tenketsu_ burned. Underneath the section of the wall in front of him, the ground cracked and shuddered. A furious discharge of surging bolts of lightning tore apart the earth and soil right underneath the concrete base of the wall, and the entire thing simply collapsed in front of them.

It did so to reveal an enormous wave of water rising up towards them. Naruto caught a glimpse of several shinobi at the top of the factory with their hands twisted in various seals, before the tsunami rose up and blocked them from view. Both Mei and Naruto moved at the same time, falling into synch with each other.

_Earth Release: Earth Style Wall!_

The ground underneath them shuddered as Naruto manipulated the technique, and as Alpha Squad ran through the remains of the gates, a ramp made of rock and stone rose up from the ground. At the same time, Mei produced an enormous globe of water and surrounded them with a dense, curved torrent. The tsunami crashed upon them, but Mei's defensive technique shielded them from the worst of it as sprays of water splashed against them. Then, they rose above it, beyond the crashing waves of water that ran out to sea, taking with it the shattered remains of the docks with it.

As soon as Naruto had a clear view of the enemy again, he palmed two kunai and hurled up as far as he could.

_Kunai Shadow Clone Technique!_

At the top of their arc, as gravity once again began to pull them down, the two kunai became two hundred. They fell in a great wave of metal, slamming into the top of the factory, shattering skylights and lodging themselves in sheets of tin and plastic. Naruto made a single hand-seal as they fell, his teeth bared behind his mask as the rush of combat fuelled his body.

"Detonate!" He roared.

The explosive tag wrapped around the handle of every kunai, cloned or not, glowed white for a brief moment. Then, the air shook and the glass of the windows in front of them shattered as a series of explosions blended together to become a huge concussive wave of force. The upper level and roof of the factory simply caved in, disappearing under the balls of fire and force. At the same time, Naruto's earth technique, the rocky pillar that they were running onto them, slammed into the factory wall in front of them. Metal groaned and shrieked as it was torn apart, the earth technique lodging itself securely in the frame of the factory.

Mei reared her head back and a stream red-hot magma shot forward. It splattered against the wall in front of them, which simply _melted_ underneath the heat and pressure of her technique, leaving a hole big enough for the squad to run through. Naruto caught a brief glimpse of assembly lines before loyalist shinobi began their counterattack, but he managed to briefly check his watch.

* * *

><p><em>1319<em>

_The Eastern Sea_

* * *

><p>The freighter, having left Taiji in the morning, continued its slow and steady journey towards the Bloody Cove, the Land of Water's only outpost on the main continent of the Elemental Countries. Each freighter was guarded by over twenty of Yagura's shinobi at all times, securing the cargo and preventing any attacks. Unfortunately for the loyalists, one of those shinobi was a Resistance sleeper, and her guard post covered the eastern approach to the vessel.<p>

Sasuke ran at the back of Bravo Squadron, feeling the burn of running on water for over an hour. It was an exhaustively intense exercise, and if it hadn't been for the monstrous training regimen that he had been a part of since joining Team Sigma, he wouldn't have been able to make the journey. Nonetheless, he was able to follow Bravo Squadron as they closed in on the freighter with at least sixty-percent of his chakra reserves ready for combat.

His heart was beating, his _sharingan _swirling behind his mask, and he knew that a smile had twisted across his face. With the adrenaline surging in his veins, and his chakra primed within his _tenketsu_, he was ready for anything. This was what he wanted- this was what he had always wanted. Missions that would test him, force him to into situations that would develop and hone his skills! In the last six months under Naruto's command, he had grown so far that sometimes he could scarcely believe it.

Soon it would be enough.

At the front of the squad, Kage's hands moved.

_: Twenty-one chakra signatures ahead - prepare for disabling technique – all enemies are to be neutralised, however enemy with red headband is friendly- do not engage :_

Their leader, the stoic, quiet Chukichi, was running through a series of hand-seals. When he finished, a surge of chakra blasted through the air around them. It sent a shudder down Sasuke's back and his sharingan spun, trying to determine the effect of the unseen technique. It didn't take long. A chill began to fill the air, and it grew colder and colder. The water underneath his feet began to harden and ice over, and a frosty haze took to the air.

The effects were more pronounced near the _Atakebune. _The water around it had become a sludge, ice and frost forming up to stop the ship, and Sasuke could hear the propellers underneath the water stop moving. The frost and ice crept over the ship, effectively halting it in its place, while the mist rose up towards the top of the vessel, blocking their entry of attack from view.

It was an effective technique, but there was a tang to the air that had Sasuke surprised. He glanced sharply at Chukichi as the man began to bark out orders. Was it possible that that man was related to the missing-nin Haku? It had been over a year, but Sasuke's battle with the gentle boy remained fresh on his mind. It had been the day he had unlocked the potential of his eyes- and the day he had been soundly defeated by those strange ice techniques.

As Kage relayed the orders, Sasuke pushed the issue to the back of his mind. It really didn't matter at the moment. They were going to get that ship. Bravo Squad scaled the side of the ship and emerged on the deck. The enemy was waiting for them, and Sasuke was barely over the rungs and onto solid ground when he was attacked.

"_Water Style! Water Bullet Technique!"_ somebody shouted.

A lanky, shinobi, with dark eyes and a face twisted up in anger, reared his head back. It had been proven time and time again that verbalizing your techniques improved the efficiency and power of them- something to do with concentration and added mental focus. Nonetheless, Sasuke still didn't quite understand why some people did it. Yes, your techniques were more powerful and easier to produce, but for a competent enemy, all you were doing was telegraphing exactly what it is that you planned.

A pair of kunai flashed as Sasuke's slammed them down in metal beneath his feet. The razor-sharp edges lodged themselves in the deck, and Sasuke, crouched and waiting, placed a palm up towards the enemy. Black lines grew on his palm as he implemented the barrier technique.

_Barrier Technique: Polished Mirror!_

As the Kiri-Nin shot out a series of bullets of water from his mouth, Sasuke concentrated and formed a gleaming, transparent silver disc in front of his body. The water bullets struck them and the seal tags on the kunai flashed. An odd noise filled the air, like a rubber spring being wound back and released, and the water bullets bounced off the technique and back at the Kiri-Nin. Two struck him in the chest and he gasped, but then one rocketed towards his head and snapped his neck back, and he fell back in a spray of limbs.

Sasuke stood, palming his kunai, his sharingan swirling. Combat had erupted all over the top deck of the ship, mostly obscured by the icy mist that had overtaken them. Nearby, Kage dueled furiously with a burly Kiri-Nin wielding a giant sword, his dull-black machete clashing with the enemy's blade in a shower of sparks. Towa held back, a gleaming red crossbow in his hand, and he sprayed a series of crimson bolts towards the other end of the vessel, shooting at something unseen.

There was a blur of movement within the mist and somebody came charging at Sasuke. The young Uchiha's eyes spun, spotting every single detail of the approaching attacked- a woman, with short-cropped hair and a determined expression. Her muscles were poised and tense, her arm rising up, and the little quivers and the distribution of her body weight indicated she was going in for an overhead blow. Sweat beaded from her brow, her eyes were narrowed, one of her front teeth was fake, the other needed work, there was a loose thread on her flak-jacket, one of her pockets had only been partially closed- he perceived it all in a fraction of a second.

Sasuke inclined his head just a fraction and the blow- going exactly where he had predicted it would- missed his head, ruffling his hair. He countered with his own punch, but the woman's muscles tensed and she blocked it with her upper leg. Sasuke flipped back, avoiding the kick that came with the other leg, and she darted forward, engaging him in hand-to-hand combat.

She was clearly a close-range fighter, and not a bad one at that. She was no Hyuuga, but her movements were crisp and efficient. She used her long legs to her advantage, attacking him at a range that he couldn't easily counter. But, her expertise and skill was useless under the power of his eyes. Sasuke saw every move as if it were his own. Every tense of the muscle, every unconscious placing of the foot, every attack she began to move in for- he could see it all happening, and it was easy to dodge and avoid.

They fought for a minute, Sasuke avoiding every single attack. It was somewhat annoying, as the woman's superior range made it much harder for the Uchiha to successfully counter. His mind whirled as he avoided a kick to the chin and spin around an elbow jab. Then, he darted forward and went in for a punch.

The woman's face twitched as blocked his arm only centimeters from her face with a single hand on the wrist. Sasuke's eyes saw her other hand go for the kunai strapped to her back. He saw the momentum building up in the hand that gripped his arm, preparing to twist it sideways and break it. He could almost envision the move- she would twist his arm, breaking it, forcing him to the left, while her other hand would grip the kunai and bring it down on his neck.

A perfect counter.

Except Sasuke had planned for it, _known_ that she would block his strike right at that every place, and he pulled his index finger down. The wire on it snapped and the mechanism strapped to his arm clicked. A kunai shot smoothly down his sleeve, towards the hand that was only centimeters away from the woman's face just as she had begun to twist his arm. Her eyes widened, and she tried to lean away, but Sasuke grabbed the hilt of the kunai as it fell into his palm and drove it forward.

It cut through skin and flesh, ripping into her right eye, and she let out a shriek as she stumbled backwards, clutching at it. Sasuke snapped a kick upwards, striking her in the throat, and her kunai fell to the deck as her other hand came to grasp at her neck. The Uchiha flipped through a series of hand-seals and reared his head back.

_Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!_

The resulting wave of flames enveloped the woman in flames, and she shrieked and writhed as the force of the technique pushed her off the side of the ship. With a torn eye, a crushed throat and severe burns, Sasuke was certain that she would not be a problem ever again. He forced down the thrill and excitement of a successful victory as the mist began to lift over the ship.

The enemy had been defeated. The _Atakebune _was theirs.

* * *

><p>The battle of the weapon factory was underway. The enemy garrison, several dozen shinobi, had fallen back under the devastatingly powerful barrage of <em>ninjutsu<em> from Naruto and Mei, and Alpha Squad had breached the facility and split up. The sound of fighting rose all around Naruto as he stood at the hole in the wall he had created, keeping a careful eye on everything around him as he defended their retreat. Alpha Squad had pressed in on all sides, the other members of the squad, pushing forward to plant the explosives. Mei had disappeared on the other side of the factory, and brilliant flashes of red lit up the entire facility as she engaged an unknown enemy.

There was a rustle of cloth and Naruto's head shot up. His eyes widened as he picked up a rapidly falling blur heading straight for him, and he quickly jumped backwards. An instant later, the blur slammed into the rocky path he had created and a large, concussive boom filled the air. The stone shattered into a million pieces, completely pulverised by the power of the blow. As Naruto landed several metres away, the attacker blurred towards him, and the young Jinchuuriki could briefly make out his features.

It was a man. Tall, burly and a face full of rage, he was swinging a giant axe towards him. A leather cord wrapped around the end of the handle, winding past the man's robed body, while his headband gleamed under the light of the sun. Naruto palmed two kunai and moved to block the second, powerful strike. As he did so, the man spun, revealing his other hand behind his back- and the hammer that it gripped, and Naruto's eyes widened.

_Axe. Hammer. Cord._

_Helmet-Splitter._

He had been given a general brief on all of the weapons of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, even though Konoha wasn't exactly sure who the members where these days. He knew exactly how each one of them functioned and how they were used.

He knew exactly how he was about to die.

The Helmet-Splitter swung at his defense, and the two kunai managed to halt the axe in its tracks, Naruto's arms locked together. The hammer blow that came next would have killed him had he not realised the identity of the weapon a second before, and just as it came to slam at the end of the axe and drive it past Naruto's defense, he jumped up off of the rocky ground.

The hammer blow slammed the axe into him with deadly force, but with his feet in the air, the blow only went so far. One of his kunai shattered under the force, while the other twisted. His arm bent backwards and something snapped. Nonetheless, Naruto survived, although the force of the blow sent him rocketing away, and he fell towards the factory floor.

He managed to make a single hand-seal, but then the Swordsman was upon him, diving down to meet him. The axe lodged itself in his chest and Naruto made a gurgling noise. An instant later, he slammed into the ground, and the hammer came down to crush his head. The resulting blow cratered the concrete floor, sending shudders running through it. When the Swordsman lifted his weapons, however, all that remained of the undercover shinobi was a series of wooden splinters- the result of a successful_ replacement technique_.

Naruto, holding one arm awkwardly and shoving the pain away, reared his head back.

_Fire Release: Soaring Flame Bullets!_

_Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!_

His chakra surged. Flame elemental chakra folded in on itself as Naruto moulded it into the _tenketsu_ in his throat, merging the two techniques into a single, deadly variant. He spat out a giant globe of fire three times the size of him- and then another, and then another. Three giant fireballs raced towards the ground, sizzling and crackling. An instant later, dozens- hundreds, even- of smaller streaks of flame fell from the falling orbs of flame. They bombarded the ground in a never-ending series of waves, and the Swordsman disappeared under the barrage of fire. A few seconds later, the three giant fireballs struck the ground in three different places and a furious storm of fire rose up, engulfing the entire area of the vast factory.

Machinery sparked and exploded. Wooden crates burst into flame. Concrete grew red hot. The air around him howled as the huge fire sucked it all in towards itself.

From it came a streak of movement as the Swordsman, moving at speeds that rivalled Naruto, darted out of it. He had not escaped unscathed, however, and his robes were blackened and burnt, his exposed skin red and blistering. He spat out a water technique, and the fire hissed as an enormous wave of water came crashing down upon it, extinguishing most of it. Mist rose up into the air, thick plumes of hot steam rising, blocking Naruto's view.

_Wind Release: Great Wind Breakthrough!_

Naruto was not going to let one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist use a _Silent Killing Technique_. He threw out his hands, ignoring the flaring pain in his forearm, and banished the mist away with a huge billowing gust of air. He did it just in time, as the Swordsman had advanced rapidly towards him and jumped up onto the metal walkway he stood on. The hammer swung but Naruto ducked and pivoted around it, producing a kunai in his right, uninjured arm and using the Swordsman's momentum against him as he parried it aside. He let go of the kunai as he darted past the man, one hand rising up into a seal.

_Kunai Shadow Clone!_

_Wind Release: Wind Breakthrough!_

The one kunai became a hundred, and the smaller wind release technique propelled them at the man's suddenly exposed back. The Swordsman was quick, however, using his giant axe as a shield to black most of the kunai, and as Naruto spun around, he leaned back and threw his giant hammer. The leather cord extended as the huge hammer flew towards Naruto, who had to jump away as the hammer slammed down onto where he was standing. The metal walkway shattered underneath the power of the blow, bits of debris and twisted metal scrap falling on the blackened, smouldering factory floor.

The hammer must have weighed a lot, Naruto deducted grimly as he landed on a lower metal walkway. They criss-crossed the roof of the assembly line, although many of them had been damaged or destroyed in the attack.

The Swordsman jumped down and Naruto darted away, avoiding a swing that would have taken his head. The blow was close enough that he could feel the wind whipping past him, and several strands of hair fell on his shoulders as he jumped up to a higher walkway. The blond ANBU heard the rustle of robe and groan of metal as he was pursued, and he threw a kunai at the railway he was just about to land on. Then, he jumped away again, spinning in the air and making a hand-seal.

_Detonate!_

The explosive tag detonated and the metal railing collapsed with the screech of twisting metal. The Swordsman batted it aside with his hammer, but it had given Naruto enough time to find the high-ground, and he bombarded the man with more fire. Streaks shot down by the dozens, whizzing through the air, striking the nearby railed paths and slamming into the blackened concrete below. The man blocked them with his hammer and axe, but temporarily halted his advance.

Then, before Naruto could form a more powerful technique, the Swordsman unclipped the cord from his hammer and hurled it upwards. Naruto jerked his head back as the hammer flew by inches from his face, disappearing into the ceiling. Something smashed above as the hammer burst through the roof and disappeared from view. The man used Naruto's distraction to advance, and a second later he was in front of Naruto, axe swinging.

Naruto blocked with a kunai and for a few moments, they duelled. The man was strong, much physically stronger than Naruto. He was also fast on his feet. Naruto, however, was smaller and much more agile, and without the hammer to support the axe, he was able to parry and avoid most of the wide blows. Sparks flew as metal grinded on metal- Naruto ducked as the axe swung at his head- the Swordsman jumped back as Naruto lunged for his knee- Naruto sidestepped a kick to the face and parried another blow from the axe.

His kunai was chipping and dulling, and Naruto threw it at the Swordsman's face. The man blocked it, but it gave Naruto enough time to produce another. Suddenly, another crashing noise filled the air above them as the roof was smashed. Naruto's eyes widened as the hammer returned back to the earth, gravity taking hold, and the Swordsman grinned. He held out his hand and the hammer zoomed towards it.

It took a second and a half. In that time, Naruto, realising the danger he was in, jumped up off the railing and sped through some hand-seals.

_Water Release: Exploding Water Colliding Wave!_

His mouth bulged with water and he spat it out in huge waves, the torrents pouring forward down on the metal walkway he had just been fighting on. The Swordsman retrieved his hammer, but as he spun around the water was on him and he was washed away, over the railing and towards the ground. The Head-Splitter fell from his hands as the Swordsman twisted in the air, hands flashing, and suddenly a rippling wave of water rose up. It formed a long, serpent-like dragon and lunged at Naruto.

The blond ANBU threw himself away and the water dragon smashed into something behind him. He fell as well, looping wire around his good arm and throwing a kunai as he did, and his fall descended into a swing. He landed on a nearby walkway and released the wire, turning to face the enemy once more. His heart was racing, his blood pumping furiously through his veins. Despite his broken arm, Naruto could continue to fight.

The Swordsman, however, was panting. His burned, blistered skin was oozing blood, and his limbs were shaking as he supported his weight on one leg. His next charge was much slower than the rest, and Naruto saw an opportunity to end it. As the man came in for a blow with his axe, Naruto flipped through some hand-seals.

_Wind Release: Wind Cutter Technique!_

He threw out his hands and a scythe of sharpened wind grew in his hands. A second later, the axe slammed into it and the wind hissed and sparked as the metal grinded upon it. Naruto held it, gritting his teeth, and the man, despite his pain, seemed confident as his hammer rose. In that split second, as the hammer came down, Naruto ducked and the propelled axe swept over his head. He lunged forward and thrust the wind scythe right into the Swordsman's belly.

He roared in pain, his axe flying back. Naruto slapped an explosive tag onto his leg and then kicked him in the groin, pushing off and avoiding the axe while simultaneously sending the man flying off the railing. Naruto landed on his feet, hands flashing, and finished the fight with one more technique.

_Earth Release: Rising Stone Spears!_

The ground beneath the falling Swordsman erupted with gleaming, stone spears. At the same time, the primed explosive tag on the man's leg detonated with a small blast, disrupting the man's attempt at an escape technique. It was with a sickening squelch that he landed on the rising stone spears. The Swordsman twitched once and then went still. A moment later, the Head-Splitter fell on the ground with a thundering boom.

Naruto took deep breaths as he surveyed his enemy. Satisfied that he was dead, he turned around, gingerly touching his arm. The fighting was still going on around them, but it seemed to be dying down. Lava spilled from the other side of the factory, melting everything it touched, and smoke rose into the air.

Some minutes later, the members of Alpha Squad began to trickle back. The Resistance shinobi were first. The spiky-haired, scowling teen was one of the first to arrive, and he glanced at Naruto's wound sharply. His palms glowed green and he began using his medical ninjutsu to heal the factured arm. Mei appeared next, looking untouched. She glanced down at the Swordsman's body and a dark, satisfied smile glimmered on her face.

"Well done," she congratulated Naruto. "He was a dangerous man. He had killed several of my operatives before today. You did well."

Naruto acknowledged her praise with a curt nod. His eyes were on Rat, Yuuka and Komachi, who were approaching. Yuuka held the back of her head as Komachi tended to it on the move, blood seeping between her fingers. Rat's robes were torn but he looked otherwise fine. As the last of the Resistance members joined them, one being carried by his partner, Mei gestured to the entry.

"It's time to leave!"

As Alpha Squad departed the factory several minutes after their initial attack, a series of explosions tore through the air. The ground beneath their feet and the trees around them rustled, swaying to and fro as the force of the detonations shook them. The factory disappeared underneath a fog of dust, several sections of its walls collapsing in on itself. Huge plumes of smoke rose into the air, and the alarms continued to blare even as Alpha Squad slunk into the shadows of the forests surrounding the island.

The first stage of the mission was complete.


	49. Operation HURRICANE: Part VI

**Operation HURRICANE Part VI**

Small, secondary explosions continued to rumble throughout the air as the attack squad fled the scene. The explosive tags detonated at the base of the support structure had been effective, and they large weapons factory had been successfully brought down. It was quite the blow to the loyalist forces of the Fourth Mizukage, and another tally added to the Resistance's ever-growing list of victories.

Yet, despite the stunning victory they had just wrought, Naruto couldn't help but feel a sense of unease.

The small group of allied Resistance members and black-ops Leaf-Nin regrouped a couple of kilometres away from the factory, circling around the inlet and moving towards the centre of the island. The jungle trees grew half as tall as the giant forests of the Land of Fire, their thick, green canopy shielding them from view. The air was warm and humid, almost unpleasantly, and insects buzzed noisily around them.

Komachi was running her hands over the back of Yuuka's blood-splattered head, a gentle green light glowing from between her fingers. She was earning her position as Team Sigma's medical officer, having already finished Naruto's fractured arm. The Resistance's medic-nin, ironically called Kiri, was crouched down over one of his team, running his own hands over the large gash in his leg.

Mei looked quite pleased with herself. Unlike the rest of her squad, it didn't look like a speck of dirt had stained her grey flak-jacket, and her long red hair swayed in the breeze. Naruto watched her very carefully.

"That was an excellent operation," she told Naruto with real warmth in her voice. She regarded him with sparkling green eyes. "You and your team are quite skilled. That fire technique you used was _very _impressive."

"Says the woman who can spit lava," Naruto responded dryly.

Mei laughed, throwing her head back. "Quite ironic," she agreed.

Naruto smiled thinly behind his mask. "It did go well," he agreed. "I'd say it went _too_ well."

Mei cocked her head in puzzlement as Naruto turned to fully face her.

"You didn't need us for that attack," the blond ANBU Captain continued, his voice hardening. "You and your forces could have quite easily taken out that factory without us- so why did you want us to come along?"

Mei looked taken aback, but then a soft smile crossed her face. "It was guarded by two of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist," she answered. "I took out one, and you took out the other. I wouldn't have wanted to face them alone."

"The Swordsmen I took out wasn't that good," Naruto shot back, shaking his head. "I'm sure you have shinobi capable of that level of skill."

"He was good enough." Mei looked at him strangely. "He was a brute, yes, but he was fast and vicious and very good with that sword. The new incarnation of the Swordsmen may lack the sheer quality and skill of the previous generation, but they're not weaklings."

Naruto wasn't convinced.

"You're either overestimating the number of shinobi the Resistance has that are at your calibre," Mei said, "or you're underestimating your own prowess. Yes, the Resistance probably could have taken that factory without your help, but it would have cost us lives. With you, we didn't even lose a single fighter."

Mei's face softened, and for a brief moment she looked quite sad as her voice turned wistful.

"It's not often that happens."

It was a plausible explanation, and the display of emotion from Mei was almost touching. It was almost believable. Maybe Naruto was being a bit too hard on himself- without that combination fire technique at the beginning of the fight, things could have gotten tough. If the Swordsman hadn't been wounded, Naruto could see how dangerous and deadly he would have been with that weapon.

Still, something didn't sit right with him.

Komachi finished patching up Yuuka, adjusting a gauze pad to her head and wrapping a bandage around the front of her mask where the Yamanaka's forehead would be. Kiri looked like he was done with his patient, the dour-looking teen rising and nodding shortly to Mei.

"And now we part," Mei said. She gestured around them. "Loyalist reinforcements will arrive shortly, drawn out from nearby bases and outposts." She turned to Naruto, her face becoming serious. "Remember the plan. We'll retreat south, making as much noise as we can. Use the maps, follow the plans, and work with the times."

Naruto nodded shortly. He raised a hand, gesturing to the three other members of his squad. Rat emerged from the trees, pulling back from his sentry duty, while Yuuka and Komachi joined him. Mei eyed Naruto one last time, and she smiled mischievously.

"Good luck, my favourite little blond," she cooed, and, bending down, she planted a soft kiss to Naruto's exposed blond locks.

Naruto resisted the instinct to bury his knee in her stomach and just rolled his eyes behind his mask. Still, the beautiful woman's hair tickled the nape of his neck and her scent filled his nostrils. Truth be told, it wasn't entirely an unpleasant experience. Mei retreated and Naruto gave her a wordless nod. Then, he raised his hand and turned to his team.

_: Scouting formation – avoid enemy contact – move due south-east – the second phase is now in effect :_

Without another word, Team Sigma disappeared in brief flickers of movement. As they ran through the large trees and towards the oceans, using the Resistance's knowledge of the loyalist patrols to avoid any unnecessary conflict, Komachi cleared her throat.

"Got a new girlfriend?" she noted blandly.

Yuuka made a noise in the back of her throat as Naruto shook his head.

"We're being used," he told them darkly. "I don't know how, I don't know why, and I don't know what for- but something's going on and I don't like it."

He eyed each member of his squad as they raced through the trees.

"Be on your guard," he warned them. "And be prepared for anything."

* * *

><p>Uchiha Sasuke stood at the head of the captured freighter, <em>The Atakebune<em>, and watched as the mist around the vessel rolled around him. From behind his mask, his sharingan spun lazily, idly noting the chakra entwined with it, fuelling its appearance. Two of the Resistance members had left a short time ago, and now the first of the refugees had begun to flock to the ship. They came in whatever they could- fishing boats, rafts, even a canoe. A rope-ladder had been tossed over the side, and one by one the refugees climbed up. Those to old, infirm or unable to make it were gently carried up by a shinobi.

Seeing no other activity around them, Sasuke turned his head and watched as Chukichi conversed quietly with one of the other shinobi. The other woman seemed agitated, but the larger, burly man said something and she quietened, although she still looked mulish. Nearby, Kage and another Resistance member carried up a stack of wooden crates.

"We're ready!" Kazuya called out from the other side of the ship. The dark-skinned, silver-haired noble was busy coordinating the stream of refugees coming in from the smaller boats that had flocked around the ship.

Chukichi nodded stonily. He gave a couple of curt orders to one of his subordinates as they began the process of camouflaging the refugees. On the other side of the deck, a group of Resistance members began to haul up the freighter's cargo- hundreds of barrels of whale blubber, meat and oil. One of the shinobi tipped the first barrel over, and Sasuke wrinkled his nose as a rather foul smell came from the pile of sloppy whale blubber.

The loyalists at the Bloody Cove weren't going to let dozens of civilians just walk out of the port. Instead, they would have to be hidden. By removing the goods and installing fake bottoms, the refugees could hide within the barrels. The smaller compartment at the top would be filled with fresh whale products- fresh enough that the residual natural chakra should mask the hidden civilians from the loyalist sensors.

It was a rather quick process- they were on a schedule, after all. The thirty-eight refugees, thirty-nine if you included Kazuya, were loaded on board. Approximately three-dozen barrels were also brought up from the smaller boats surrounding the freighter. Each one had a false bottom on it, allowing a single refugee to crouch down in a barrel. Kiri waved glowing green hands over each refugee and passed them a small tonic to drink, and it only took a minute before each man, woman and child was sedated and in place.

There was some difficulty with one of the refugees, however. A young, haggard-looking woman had brought a baby with her. She couldn't have been much older than Sasuke, and the young Uchiha had initially thought that perhaps the baby had been a sibling or a relative, but their facial structures were similar and the way she held the child protectively to her chest was just like his aunt had held his cousin when Sasuke had been a child. She was rather pretty with her pale skin and her waif-like eyes, and suddenly Sasuke didn't really want to know consider just who might be the father. Nothing would surprise him in these blood-soaked lands.

The mother had been adamant about not giving the baby anything, and Kiri was growing increasingly frustrated. In the end, she wasn't given a choice as Kiri swiped a hand over her eyes before she could react. The young medic looked a tad regretful as he did so, and was extra-careful as he helped place her in her barrel, making sure that the child was safely secured. Sasuke noted this from his position at the head of the ship, his sharingan spinning as he stood guard.

The rest of the transfer would only take another ten minutes or so. The false bottoms had been placed on the barrels and the Resistance shinobi were currently placing fresh whale produce on top- blubber and oil and meat. The barrels would join the rest of the stock, another couple of hundred, and then they would head for the Bloody Cove.

_Phase One_ of Bravo Squad's mission was complete.

* * *

><p>For the most part, the journey from the weapons factory towards their next target was uneventful. It was almost relaxing- for Naruto, that is. With his insanely-huge chakra reserves and almost-limitless stamina, he could have continued the run over the ocean waves all day. Unfortunately for the rest of the team, they didn't have the same advantages as the Jinchuuriki, and as such they needed to rest. There was still phase two of the operation to finish, and Naruto didn't want to lead an exhausted, chakra-depleted squad into battle.<p>

As such, the small group of boats ahead of them were going to suit their purposes just fine. The flags they flew on their masts indicated that they were part of Kiri's scouting and patrol forces. There were four boats bobbing on the calm, blue surface. Without Daichi, it was impossible to be certain, but Yuuka was a half-decent sensor on her own, and she had only counted a dozen shinobi manning the patrol.

_: Yuuka, provide long-range support with Komachi, flank from the right – Rat, go underneath, attack from below – I will engage the front – middle boat is priority target, do not damage :_ Naruto signed a few kilometres away from the patrol. s

_: Understood _: The rest of the team signalled back.

Naruto didn't bother with the pretence of stealth as he sprinted forward. He was a blur on the surface of the ocean as he rapidly approached the patrol. He took a deep breath, steadying himself and readying his chakra, while the rest of his squad trailed off behind him. Then, they split up, and Komachi and Yuuka darted off to the right and Rat expertly slipped beneath the surface of the water.

The Kiri-Nin had spotted them and bells were ringing on the boats. People were shouting and a small line of shinobi stood on the deck of the first ship. They were still a couple of kilometres out, but Naruto picked out specks of movement coming towards him and easily avoided them. Dozens of bullets of tightly compressed water shot at him, missing him and exploded on the surface of the water. Loud booms and large splashes of water tore through the air around him, and Naruto was drenched from all sides. He was temporarily obscured from the view of the enemy and used it to make a set of hand-seals. Chakra surged through him, and he folded it upon itself twice.

_Shadow Clone Technique!_

Half a dozen shadow clones burst into existence around him and they immediately jumped away, their hands flashing through hands seals. As they landed on the surface of the water, each clone reared his head back and spat out a series of fiery streaks back at the boats. The real Naruto continued his advance as he completed his second technique.

_Fire Release: Great Wave of Flame!_

He reared his head back and spat out an enormous wave of blazing flame. The water around him hissed and spluttered as the writhing wave of flame rapidly advanced on the patrol. Water around the boats and Kiri-Nin rose up in a gigantic wall, easily able to hold off a fire-technique, and that was when Naruto's _third_ technique came into effect. His hands were coated with wind-elemental chakra, and he brandished them in front of him. He sliced the air, and unseen scythes of wind lashed out to where the wave of fire and the wall of water had met.

They fuelled the flames, giving the wave of flame a boost for a split-second. Normally, the wind-chakra would normally have been swallowed up within the flames, devoured to make the fire even stronger, but Naruto held the _ram seal_ and concentrated. He was already quite used to separating differing elemental chakra within his own body, and it wasn't that hard to extend it to his techniques.

The scythes of wind burst through the fire unhindered and tore through the wall of water with contemptuous ease. Naruto caught a flash of a single Kiri-Nin, one who was too close and too slow to dodge, lose an arm in a spray of blood, and then the boat was struck. It was a small boat, barely bigger than a fishing vessel, and the high-powered elemental technique ripped the wood apart with ease. Water spouted up from the bottom of the boat as the hull was pulverised in a showering spray of wooden splinters. Two of the Kiri-Nin on-board had managed to escape, darting around the wreckage and onto the water, but the wounded one was too distracted to move, and he went down, torn apart by debris.

Another boat on the other side of the patrol rocked from side to side as they were peppered with small explosions. Yuuka and Komachi kept their distance as they pelted the small vessel with exploding tags. Fire raged from the engine and oil began to splutter on the surface of the water. As the Kiri-Nin began to regroup on the water, there was a flash of movement and then wire shot up from beneath the surface. It wrapped itself around the man, twisting and contorting him into positions that the human body was not meant to handle- and then Rat surfaced, and killed him in a single, efficient stab to the throat. Blood spilled on the water as Rat dropped the corpse and moved to engage the third of the survivors, leaving Naruto to begin his assault on the other vessels.

Two of the four boats were driftwood and five of the Kiri-Nin were dead in the first ten seconds of combat- but the rest of them were beginning to regroup and counterattack. Naruto slapped his hands together and focussed on a nearby piece of wood as a spiralling drill of water rose up from the surface, using the _replacement technique_ to avoid a blow that would have taken out his torso.

He reappeared on the remains of the first boat as woman with a buzz-cut and wearing a Jonin vest moved to engage him. She carried a single-edged sword and swiped at his head with surprising speed. Naruto blocked the blow with his forearm guards, and metal scraped against metal as he parried the blow to the side. At the same time, he launched a kick at the woman's knee, but she blocked it with her shin and used to leverage to push him back. Her hand came up to lash out at his face, and as Naruto dodged to the side, he had to pull of an uncomfortable acrobatic manoeuvrer to avoid the tip of her blade that lashed out at his throat.

They fought in furious close-combat as the battle continued on around them. The woman was taller than him and about just as fast. She was clearly skilled with the blade and used an unusual taijutsu style in conjunction with it to launch attacks from unexpected angles. She was fast enough to avoid his counterattacks and stop him from making hand seals, and she seemed to have picked up on the fact that Naruto was the ninjutsu specialist on the squad because she continued to press her advantage.

In the few seconds of combat they had had with one another, Naruto had already determined that the sword was the most pressing issue to deal with. Fists clenched, Naruto jumped back, retreating to get some room. Then, as the enemy Jonin chased, he spun around to kick at the surface of the water. The chakra left his foot in an intense pulse and a small wave shot up at the woman. At the same time, Naruto halted his advanced and unexpectedly attack with a single punch. The Jonin broke through the water with ease, slicing down through it to meet Naruto's hands- and then the metal of the blade struck against a glowing, spiralling ball in his hand.

The _rasengan_ ground against the sword for a single instant. Then, it shattered, and Naruto's attack continued. The woman's eyes widened as she leant backwards to avoid the thrust to her chest while simultaneously kicking up at him. Naruto let out a grunt as her foot knocked his hand aside, the _rasengan_ dispersing as it tore through the first few layers of her flak vest. The woman darted backwards, forming hand-seals, as Naruto did the same.

_Water Release: Black Rain Technique!_

A black mist rose up from the ocean, pungent and slick. At the same time, a column of spirally water shot out of the ocean with a deafening roar. The fully formed water-dragon was ten times the size of Naruto and shot out towards him with terrifying speeds. At the same time, the black mist had spread over a sizable portion of the ocean. Naruto tossed a single kunai towards the dragon, and then, taking a deep breath, let the chakra underneath his feet fade. He dropped instantly into the ocean, twisting to face the surface with a single hand-seal formed.

_Detonate!_

The exploding tag was a mere Class-E, more of a pop than a bang, but it was the spark the flammable black mist needed. It caught alight and a huge billowing cloud of flame lit up the surface of the ocean in front of him. A deep roar boomed around him, muffled by the water, as the surface caught alight and began to rage. The water dragon exploded underneath the sudden intense heat, unable to keep its structure as its user dropped into the ocean to join Naruto. The young blond could see her sporting a few burns, but she was otherwise unharmed. He felt a pang of annoyance shoot through him.

This was taking too long.

Then, suddenly, the woman was expertly gliding through the water towards him, her hands flashing in seals, and Naruto belatedly realised that forcing a Kiri-Nin underwater might not have been the best idea. Shimmering contortions formed around her fingertips as five large, fierce-looking sharks made up of writhing water formed in front of her.

Naruto focussed on the chakra surging in his body and layered it upon his _tenketsu_. What he did next was more of a chakra training exercise than an actual technique as he flooded the water all around him with his water-elemental chakra. It surged and spluttered underneath the force of his chakra even as the sharks glided towards him, razor-sharp teeth somehow gleaming beneath the fiery surface of the ocean.

_Fire Release: Soaring Flame Bullets!_

Naruto reared his head back and expertly shot out half a dozen streaks of fire. Normally, such a technique underwater would have been useless, but Naruto had made the water around him _his_, and he simply separated the two different types of elemental chakra and allowed the fire to pass. Five of the bullets struck the water sharks and they exploded in billowing clouds of super-heated steam. The sixth bullet shot out at the Jonin and exploded a metre in front of her as it came into contact with water outside of Naruto's influence.

While the flame had disappeared, the momentum that had propelled it had not, and a scalding streak of boiling water was pushed right into the face of the enemy. Naruto saw her mouth open in a soundless scream as her skin reddened and blistered underneath the force of his extinguished fire technique. Her eyes blackened and bubbles exploded from her mouth as she clutched at her throat. She began to sink as she thrashed around helplessly in the water.

Naruto watched her disappear into the darkened depths; his cheeks bulged with the single breath of air he had taken before. Satisfied that the Jonin would not be recovering, and particularly away that that was one of the nastier ways he had ever killed somebody, Naruto broke up to the surface and finish the fight.

There wasn't much to finish. The Jonin had been the only troubling opponent and the rest of his team had mopped up the patrol quite easily. A few minutes later, the four ANBU put the engine of the sole remaining boat on full power and settled down for a break.

They had one last thing to do.

* * *

><p>At approximately two-thirty in the afternoon, <em>The Atakebune<em> arrived at the Bloody Cove. It was one of three moderately-sized freighters that were at port at the fortress-like town. Sasuke stood, disguised as a Kiri-Nin with bandages wrapped around his face, and he watched the freighter tie itself down to the large dock. Despite being the trading hub between the Land of Fire and the Land of Water, there wasn't much activity going on. That wasn't necessarily a good thing, since that meant that anything they did was going to stand out even more.

The Bloody Cove had been built around the cove where it had received its name. Five large piers stretched out towards the water, each one able to take five vessels of _The Atakebune's _size. Stacks of shipping containers rose up on one side, rusty metal gleaming in the sunlight. Beyond the docks was a large road that led out to a set of at least three different walls and gates. Houses of dull, grey stone had been built around each of the roads, looking more like barracks and guard houses than people's homes. The air smelt of salt and fish, and despite the fact that the place resembled more of a military outpost and less of a village, Sasuke could see signs of civilian habitation- clothes pegged out on lines, fishing boats dotting the beach, a gaggle of people doing the sorts of odds and ends that shinobi wouldn't.

It was a pretty miserable place, and one that looked like it was completely under the thumb of Kiri's military forces.

Sasuke felt a twinge of anxiety that he ruthlessly squashed a second later. He kept close to Kage, who had disguised himself as a Kiri Jonin Leader. Daichi, Towa and Sasuke were the Chunin underneath Kage who had been 'assigned' to guard the freighter on its journey to the Bloody Cove. Four other members of the Resistance had taken the role of a second squad, while their leader, Chukichi had taken a handful of his squad and slipped away before the ship had come into port. As a leading member of the Resistance, Chukichi was the third-most wanted shinobi in the Land of Water at the moment and the risk that he might be recognised despite any disguise was simply too great.

Chukichi was going to rendezvous with Terumi Mei's squad and assist in the second wave of attacks. Hopefully, with Naruto attacking in the north and the Resistance attacking in the south, they would be able to draw away a lot of Kirigakure's ANBU and Hunter-Nin from the town.

Kage led his squad to the small group off the boat and towards the small group of waiting Kiri-Nin at the entrance of the docks. The head of the group was a tired-looking man wearing a pair of half-moon glasses. Despite his lacklustre appearance, his headband had been recently polished and it gleamed brightly in the sun. He was flanked by two imposing blank-masked shinobi.

"Sir," Kage bowed his head, his tone perfectly flat. "Jonin Somachi reporting in. I have with me Chunin Idate, Zumoro and Wota. We're under a B-ranked mission to escort _The Atakebune _to the Bloody Cove."

The man consulted his clipboard, rifling through the papers. He nodded, making a humming noise in the back of his throat. "Yes, we've received your paperwork, Jonin," he said. "Where are the rest of your team?"

Kage gestured back at the ship, where barrels were being rolled off of the deck by the other undercover shinobi. "Preparing the goods for inspection, sir," he answered obediently.

"Good, good." The inspector exhaled nosily and raked a hand through his hair. "Let's go have a look, shall we?"

Kage fell into step with the man and the two TIDE operatives, and Sasuke drifted behind them. The sensation of nervousness threatened to upset his equilibrium, and he had to make sure that he wasn't giving anything away. It was a tense situation for him, knowing that he was in the heart of the enemy's stronghold. Plus, he was certain that he was being watched- that they all were- by hidden observers. The hair on the back of his neck prickled as the unseen observers stared at them.

"What goods are you declaring here?" the inspector asked Kage in a well-rehearsed tone.

Sasuke was sure that the man had the information already, but Kage answered with well-practised ease.

"Whale products," he replied easily. "Oil, blubber and meat. Two hundred barrels."

The inspector frowned. "A small cargo," he noted.

"I'm no fisherman, but apparently the migration cycle of the whales have started later than usual this year," Kage answered with a small shrug.

The inspector hummed as they came up next to _The Atakebune. _Dozens of barrels had already been wheeled out and the Resistance team was waiting by them. The inspector gestured to one of the TIDE operatives by his side, and the ANBU walked over and pried off the lid of the nearest barrel. A foul stench rose up into the air as the operative peered into it.

Sasuke kept the emotion off of his face but he could have sworn his heart stopped for a moment.

The other TIDE operative had brought his hands together in a seal, and he had sunken onto the spot, concentrating. As one of the operatives opened each barrel and inspected its contents, the other- a sensor, Sasuke hazarded a guess- scanned its contents. Two members of the Resistance team kept rolling the barrels down while the other two began to roll the inspected barrels aside to make room.

"Hmm, given that you only have a small cargo, we should be able to get this done in a few hours," the inspector noted thoughtfully. He was ticking things off of his clipboard as the two TIDE operatives continued their inspections. "We'll weigh them next, and then get the dogs to have a search, empty a couple…" He shrugged. "You know the drill."

If it came to that then there was no way their deception was going to work, Sasuke thought grimly. Any truly significant inspection of the barrels was going to reveal the hidden occupants one way or another, and there was no way that they could fight their way out of the city- at least, not without Naruto here with them. The diversions that Alpha Squad and the Resistance were causing were meant to have started ten or fifteen minutes ago. News would be trickling back to the Bloody Cove, and soon-

A pair of chiming bells began to ring. The inspectors head shot up, his posture suddenly alert, while the two TIDE operatives straightened. A second set of bells rang, and then a third, and there was a sudden hub of activity around them as the Kiri-Nin were roused. The inspector frowned as the TIDE operatives paused in their search.

"It looks like you're going to be delayed," he said grimly. "It looks like something's come up, so you'll have to stay put until further notice."

Without warning, the two TIDE operatives suddenly disappeared in single flicker of movement. Sasuke turned to watch a squad of black-robed, blank-masked shinobi form up further on the dock for a brief moment before they all departed to the south. As soon as they were gone, the inspector turned back to them.

"Honey sings in the summer rain," he whispered urgently.

"A sweet song of sorrow," Kage responded quietly.

The inspector let out a breath. "Right," he said quickly. "The two ANBU here were on the assault team. They'll be leaving shortly. When they do, we'll bring the carts up. You'll load the barrels onto six carts and move out to the city walls. Take this." He ripped a piece of paper off of his clipboard and handed it to Kage.

"That'll get you through the first two checkpoints," said the inspector, obviously a Resistance supporter. "On the third one, a man with a green earing will approach you. Say that Megumi has given the all-clear, and you'll be let through."

Sasuke exhaled softly, and Towa clapped him briefly on the back. So far, it looked like everything was going according to plan.

* * *

><p>On the main continent of the Elemental Countries, in the north of the territory that Kirigakure had wrested from Konoha during the previous Great Wars, was a small observation and communications outpost. Apparently built to monitor the coastline between it and the Land of Waves, the outpost consisted of a tall lighthouse built on the top of a cliff, surrounded by a series of buildings and a wall. Inside were at least two dozen shinobi, a mixture of a scouting force to monitor the border, a response force to counter any incursions and- according to Resistance intel- at least two TIDE operatives at any particular time.<p>

They were well-trained and well-equipped to deal with an assault on from either the Land of Waves or the Land of Fire. However, the shinobi on duty there were not expecting an attack from their own borders. A small patrol boat, engine revved on max speed, surged through the water towards the cliff-face. Whatever shinobi that should have been on watch duty was not there to raise the alarm, and the boat struck the pier with incredible force.

A second later, the two dozen explosive tags detonated, ripping the pier and a large portion of the coastal defences to shreds in a single instant. A huge fireball blossomed up into the air as a thunderous boom echoed in the air. Wooden debris and twisted metal rained from the skies all over the outpost.

Four blurs darted forward in the wake of the explosions. The figure in lead formed a series of hand-seals and a suffocating presence fell down on the area around him. Fire formed in his mouth and he shot out a searing, white-hot column of tightly-compressed flame. It shot out with incredible force, lancing upwards towards the lighthouse, and the top of the spiralling building disappeared underneath the force of the incredible attack. More explosions and fire rained down upon the buildings of the outpost as it was peppered with explosions as the squad moved in towards their objective.

It was a furious onslaught that would have given even the most experienced shinobi pause- but not this much pause.

It was thirty-seconds into their attack that Naruto realised that something was wrong. He held up a hand and the squad paused at the beach. Fire raged all around them, huge plumes of black smoke rising all around them as wood crackled in the background. Twisted and charred debris bobbed up and down on the surface of the water as Naruto surveyed the area around them carefully.

_: Location of enemy personnel? :_ He signalled.

Yuuka made a series of hand-seals. _: No shinobi detected :_

Naruto frowned behind his mask. There should have been at least twenty enemy shinobi waiting for them, and any good shinobi would have left the buildings in an instant and taken to the water where things were much harder to burn. But, even as the fires continued to rage around them, building up into a huge blaze that would be difficult to put out without a water technique, nobody came out to oppose them.

The outpost was deserted.

That was troubling for two reasons. Firstly, without an enemy presence here, nobody would report to the Bloody Cove that they were under attack and Naruto and his squad would be unable to draw forces away from the Kage and the packages. Secondly, a lack of enemy presence implied one of two things. Either the intel on the outpost was incorrect and it had been deserted, or-

_: Contact! North-east, south- west, west, east – we're surrounded! :_ Yuuka signed furiously.

Naruto gritted his teeth and clenched his fists.

Or the enemy had known they were coming and this was a trap.

The blond ANBU Captain made a series of hand-seals and the squad formed up in a defensive formation. Black-clad, blank-masked TIDE operatives had surrounded them from all sides. The outpost was suddenly full of a dozen members of Kiri's ANBU forces. Behind them, standing motionless on the surface of the ocean, stood another handful of shinobi. They held back, waiting, as Naruto assessed his options. The fires around them were already raging quite well. With a few well-placed techniques, Naruto could attempt to open a path for his squad to retreat to the north towards the Border of the Land of Waves. He would provide long-range ninjutsu support to hamper the enemy's pursuit, hopefully buying time for his team to escape.

It wasn't looking good, Naruto decided grimly. He swallowed, chakra surging in his body, his fingers clenched tightly in the palms of his gloves, every muscle in his body poised for sudden movement. Depending on the calibre of the opponent, it was possible that they wouldn't be able to escape.

Rat. Komachi. Yuuka.

Naruto felt a swell of determination well up within him, as well as a dark surge of power as the sound of rusting chains clanked in his ears. If it came down to it, he would use the power of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox if he had to.

_: Contact – approaching figure, seven o'clock! :_ Komachi signed, her entire body tense and alert.

Somebody was approaching them from the fiery remains of the outpost, seemingly unbothered from the heat surrounding them. An unsettling cloud of chakra surrounded them, shielding them, and for a moment Naruto could have sworn that the Third Hokage was there, for whom else could have a chakra presence that dense and powerful. Then, the figure walked out of the fire and Naruto jerked back as if struck.

The man- although he almost looked as if he were still a child- came to a halt. He wore a grey piece of armour over a green robe, the latter which was wrapped around his neck, his headband had been wrapped around his waist, and grey trousers were tucked into shin-high brown boots. A long staff rested on his back, a curved, sharp hook on either end, and a curious flower had been stuck on the top. He had a stitched scar running form the bottom of his left eye to his jawline, and pale, almost pink, eyes stared dully at them from underneath a mop of short, brown hair.

The look on his face was one of dull apathy, as if the presence of an enemy wasn't even enough to get worked up about. The trembling chakra presence that surrounded him, shielding him from the flames, was enough to send ripping waves through the puddles of water around them and Naruto could feel the heavy weight of the power rest on his shoulders. There was something underneath it, too, something dark and ferocious that Naruto had known all his life.

He knew what it was. It was the same type of burden that he had lived with all his life.

He was an S-ranked shinobi. A legitimate Kage of one of the Five Great Powers. A Jinchuuriki.

And he had twenty of his loyal, elite ANBU with him.

Yagura, the Fourth Mizukage of the Village Hidden in Mist, stared at the four members of Alpha Squad, surveying each one very carefully. When he spoke, his voice was toneless. "Why are you in my lands attacking my soldiers_, Leaf-Nin?_"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So yeah. Apparently, I forgot that this hadn't been uploaded here. It's been on DLP for yonks. Hopefully I did all the right editing all those months ago, because I cbf doing it now. Here you go. The next one will be up on Friday.**


	50. Operation HURRICANE: Part VII

**Operation HURRICANE Part VII**

* * *

><p>The fires around them continued to rage, sending out plumes of greasy smoke into the air. Wood crackled and a loud 'pop' echoed throughout the devastated outpost as a supporting wall of a small building collapsed, caving in the roof. Above them, high on the cliff, the lighthouse also burned, sending down glowing red-hot bits of debris. Naruto stood on the shore of the base with Yuuka, Komachi and Rat behind him, observing the surroundings grimly.<p>

The Fourth Mizukage, Yagura, stood before him. His child-like face was expressionless and he regarded the destruction of one of his military outposts apathetically. All around him, and the burning buildings, stood his elite guard, the imposing blank-masked ANBU. Naruto and his small team were surrounded on all sides by a more powerful, larger force.

Team Sigma had been through a lot over the past year, but things had never quite been _this _bad.

"I asked you a question," Yagura said tonelessly. His voice and demeanour were- quite frankly- dull. There was no expression in either his tone or face, and here merely stood there with his arms folded. It was almost like he was speaking to a child. "Why are you here?"

The more time Yagura spent talking to them, the more time Naruto had to think about his options. He licked his lips behind his mask and took a step forward. The intense pressure of the other man's chakra continued to fall upon him, but Naruto had served the Third Hokage for years, and the sensation was not unfamiliar. He considered his responses as Yagura's attention was drawn to him.

"Orders," He answered quietly.

Yagura's brow furrowed and a slightly pensive look came over his face. "Has your village declared war on mine?" he questioned them. "If so, I have not been informed."

"No war," Naruto replied as shortly and succinctly as he could. His eyes flickered over the burning buildings, counting the number of TIDE operatives he could see- and searching for the ones he _couldn't_. "Just a mission."

"Unacceptable," Yagura stated firmly. "You will surrender into my custody immediately. Failure to comply will result in your deaths."

Naruto didn't doubt that.

"Why are you here?" Naruto asked instead, intent on buying as much time as he could. His fists clenched and he exhaled noisily. "You shouldn't be anywhere near the mainland."

"The Resistance, despite their annoyance, can be a useful source of information," Yagura informed them emotionlessly. Something glittered behind his eyes. "Your presence in my lands has not gone unnoticed, Leaf-Nin."

Naruto held himself rigidly, feeling a familiar well of frustration and dread rise upon from within.

They'd been sold out.

Yagura took a step forward and the pressure that had settled around them intensified. "This will be your last chance. Surrender peacefully. Your lives still may be spared."

Spared so that they might be bartering chips used against Konoha. Spared for interrogation and torture. Spared so they might find themselves in the brutal grip of the Bloody Mist.

Naruto folded the chakra in on himself _four times_ and expelled it from his _tenketsu _in a single, continuous wave. The air around them crackled and popped as Naruto's potent chakra forced Yagura's away, and the ground and water around them shuddered and rippled under the strain of hosting such powerful energies. Yagura blinked, and for a moment Naruto thought he looked slightly surprised. He took another step forward.

"You know we won't surrender," he retorted firmly. He gestured at the Fourth Mizukage with one hand, while he brought his other hand behind his back. "Why don't you let me make that offer to _you_? Walk away, Yagura, and you might just live."

Yagura stared back, seemingly unimpressed.

At the same time, Naruto wiggled his fingers behind him, using a shorthanded variant of the ANBU hand-code.

: _Retreat southwest towards Wall – I will hold them off – wait for signal :_

But before Naruto could do anything more, movement flickered into existence in front of him and a single TIDE operative was kneeling before the Fourth Mizukage. Yagura cocked his head and regarded his loyal soldier.

"Report."

"Milord, a small merchant caravan has left the Bloody Cove and is making its way to The Wall," the woman said.

It took a moment for Naruto to recognise her as the woman who his squad had encountered on their first trip to The Wall, the one who had cut down the refugees fleeing towards them. Yagura took the news with a slight nod.

"Take Squads 1, 2 and 5 with you," he ordered. "And find them. At the very least, they have disobeyed emergency protocol." He turned to assess Naruto carefully. Then, he said, "Once you have found them, kill them all."

The woman nodded and made a series of unfamiliar gestures. Almost immediately, about ten of the black-robed operatives surrounding them disappeared from sight. Naruto could only hope that the rest of Team Sigma was able to reach The Wall in time.

"Now then," Yagura began, but Naruto wasn't paying any attention.

The sudden departure of shinobi had opened a path, if only briefly, and given Naruto a chance to act. In the split-second before the rest of the formation moved to fill the gaps of their departed comrades, Naruto let the chakra that he was pumping into the surroundings grow. A sudden intense pulse of chakra shot through the air as Naruto brought his hands together.

_Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!_

_Fire Release: Great Wave of Flame!_

_Fire Release: Blazing River!_

_Fire Release: Soaring Flame Bullets!_

_Fire Release: Fire Dragon Bullet Technique!_

Naruto had never stacked so many techniques simultaneously, and he had never done so with just himself and without any clones to assist. Nonetheless, he had several things going for him. Firstly, his chakra was all around him, spread through the ground and the rubble and the fires that raged around the outpost. That put less of a strain on his body. Secondly, all of the techniques were of the same elemental type, which made the formation of the chakra within his body much easier.

Thirdly, his teammates were in danger. It _had to work!_

Yagura reared back as the fires around him suddenly raged with a sudden increasing potency. Plumes of flame rose up into the air and a gigantic wave five times the height of the Mizukage swept towards him. Air popped and a terrible boom roared over the village as dozens of streaks of searing balls of flame shot out in all directions. The ground glowed and turned red-hot, glowing rocks, mud and dirt setting everything they touch alight. One of the remaining buildings of the outpost simply disappeared as a ball of flame enveloped it, sending a rain of wooden and metal shards down on everything around it.

And then a thin, tightly-condensed stream of fire so hot and bright that it hurt to look at rose into the air. It lanced forward and tore through the concrete spire of the lighthouse with contemptuous ease. Bits of rubble and debris fell to the ground as the technique sheared the lighthouse in two, and suddenly there was tons of rock falling down upon the outpost as the top half of the lighthouse was separated from its base.

"Go!" Naruto roared, not even looking back. His _tenketsu_ burned from the strain of releasing so many techniques and he grimaced as he moulded the chakra for another technique.

The fires raged unabated, a conflagration of immense proportions as the rubble from the lighthouse struck the water behind them. The ground shuddered and a huge wave of water exploded outwards from the collapse. Within that, a squad of three shinobi darted forward and moved to engage the ANBU operatives standing on the surface of the ocean. Another squad moved to the north, peppering the operatives with kunai, while a third and fourth squad moved west and south. Amidst all of these shadow clones, the real alpha team darted between the rising smoke and rubble and sprinted at top speed towards the southwest, toward The Wall and an army of friendly shinobi to save them

Naruto didn't. Their enemy was a Kage, and they would never be able to escape an S-rank shinobi so easily. Instead, he clasped his hands together and concentrated.

He has been ordered by the Hokage to survive, even if it meant blowing his cover. Besides, Yagura seemed to know exactly where they had come from anyway.

A wave of chakra washed over the outpost and water rose from the oceans to sweep the fire away. Huge clouds of hissing steam and plumes of smoke obscured the area, but Yagura's unconcerned form was still plainly visible.

Naruto reached down within him and drew on the power of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox. He ignored the sudden fatigue and darkness that tried to overtake his mind as the feelings of anger and rage and sorrow and so much crushing guilt that he had repressed came rising up with the power. The sound of rattling chains filled his ears as the mental representation of his emotional issues drank greedily from the foul power of the demon within him. Something chuckled darkly in his ear- it wasn't the Nine-Tailed Fox but something _else_.

As all of that was happening, a crimson miasma of power exploded around his form. The potent, dark chakra formed a visage of a large, sneering fox, and a terrible ear-splitting howl rose up into the air. Naruto panted and gasped as he wrested the power where he wanted it with practised ease. His teeth were sharpening, his fingers popping out of their sockets as they extended and formed claws. He could feel his lips stretching and his vision grew darker, but at the same time everything was more pronounced.

Two tails made up on crimson chakra swished behind him as Naruto pressed down on the ground and launched himself at the Fourth Mizukage with everything he had. Emerging through the smoke and steam, Naruto caught a single glimpse of the first true emotion the Mizukage had displayed- shock. Then his fist, wreathed in crimson fire, lashed up to take the man's head from his shoulders.

The Mizukage, despite his surprise, reacted smoothly as he reached for the long, hooked staff from his back and swung it at Naruto's face. It was a counterattack done in less than a second, and the cool metal of the back of the staff struck him in the cheek with incredible force. The miasma of chakra around him dampened the blow, but the force behind it was enough to send Naruto skidding sideways and he batted aside. He skidded along the ground and slammed into the fiery remains of a building by the pier. The building collapsed as Naruto tore through the walls and disappeared into the fire.

A roar filled the air as Naruto emerged from the building a second later. His cheek had been split open and blood dribbled down onto the ground, curdling, blackening and disappearing as the potent chakra around him boiled it. His jawbone was visible, but even as he stood there, the skin began to kit itself back together. Naruto was panting as he glared at the Mizukage.

Directing and controlling the chakra of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox were two different things. You couldn't really _control_ it as such. It reacted on instinct and impulse. Naruto would have a problem and the chakra would seek to resolve that problem in a variety of different ways. These flashes of insight were incredibly difficult to predict or plan, and instead came to Naruto as he needed to do it. As such, all he had to do was direct the chakra to a specific goal and unleash the power on it.

The goal here: _Kill the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura._

The chakra bubbled and boiled around him as Naruto launched himself at Yagura again. Yagura slid into a two-handed stance and the staff flashed as it lashed out at Naruto. The young Jinchuuriki dodged and lashed out with a strike of his clawed hand, which was blocked by the back end of the staff. The claws ran down the metal staff and sparks flew through the air as he gouged a single scratch into it.

Amidst the ruins of the outpost and the battle between shadow clones and TIDE operatives, Uzumaki Naruto engaged in combat with one of the Five Kage of the Hidden Villages.

* * *

><p>Bravo Team had left The Bloody Cove right on time, ushered through the gates with expediency as whatever people Terumi Mei had put into place played their roles perfectly. They were given another cursory inspection, but then quietly let through. Squads of loyal Kiri-Nin sped towards the south, and Sasuke could see smoke rising up into the air as the Resistance-Nin began their attack. Naruto was somewhere in the north, razing another. Between the dual attacks, plus trouble on the archipelago, the Kiri-Nin would hopefully be too occupied to notice that a caravan had left and never returned.<p>

There were six wagons, each pulled by a horse, and they lumbered on the rocky, flat road. The trees and foliage around them was all dead, the ground salted and the plants destroyed so that nobody would be able to sneak up on them. It was an effective measure considering they were bordering the Land of Fire, where Leaf-Nin were quite adept at using the vast forests there to camouflage their movements. It also meant that Bravo team had an unhindered view of the surroundings.

Sasuke stood to the left of one of the wagons, his _sharingan_ spinning on at random intervals as he kept his eyes peeled for pursuers. Kage took the lead with the Resistance-Nin team leader, a woman with large black bangs covering her eyes. Daichi stood on top of the middle wagon, doing the same thing as Sasuke with his _byakugan_. Even though he appreciated his eyes, Sasuke couldn't help but feel that the _byakugan_ was infinitely more useful on missions such as these.

He suddenly shivered. There was a chill in the air, and it was making the hair on the back of his neck stand up on end. Despite the warm sun beaming down on them, Sasuke could feel his limbs shaking. He eyed his arm, blinking in languid fascination as it shivered uncontrollably, and he was barely aware that he had stopped moving.

The whole caravan had. The shinobi there stared to the north-east, and Sasuke raised his eyes to gaze at the far horizon as well. In the distance, plumes of smoke were rising up into the sky. The wind howled around them, but the breeze was soft on his skin. Then, Sasuke activated the _sharingan_.

It was as if a blanket of cold terror had been swept off of him. There was a horrible, foul power radiating throughout the air.

"Shit," Kage muttered. He turned to his Resistance counterpart. "That's a problem," he told her grimly.

"Is that…" she began.

"Contact!" Daichi interrupted loudly. "Northeast- approaching rapidly and fanning out to surround us! Kiri ANBU!"

Sasuke stiffened in alarm and he whirled around. There was nothing he could see at the moment, but he trusted his teammate's eyes. There was a fluster of movement at the front as the Resistance team leader jumped up to where Daichi was standing.

"How many?" She demanded hoarsely.

"I count eleven," Daichi replied evenly. "Four squads of two and a squad of three."

The Resistance-Nin whirled around. "Kiri, Junko, Shiro! Form up!" She turned to Kage, who had joined her. "We'll go out and meet them," she told him quickly. "You get the refugees to The Wall."

"Understood," Kage gave her a brief nod.

He turned to the wagons as the Resistance Team sped off to intercept their pursuers. They had been loaded so that only the second one carrier all of the barrels that the refugees had hidden in. Several of the refugees played the parts of merchants and many of them had paled, looking fearful and frightened.

"We're going to split the wagons up," Kage ordered. "Secure the reins and then whip the horses into running at top speed. You'll join our wagon and hopefully the ruse will buy us some time. Go!"

The civilians burst into movement as they jostled around the wagons, setting things up. A few moments later, five of the six wagons shot out away from them as the horses galloped forward at top speeds. One went down the road they were on as Kage led the wagon over the rocky ground, but still in the direction of The Wall.

"Fall in, move out!" Kage ordered and the wagon began to move quickly.

They ran for at least five minutes. Behind them, a series of small pops burst into existence, explosions and the sounds of fighting beginning to rise in the air. A heavy mist was settling down on the area as the Resistance Team fought against superior numbers to hold them back.

"The enemy has been stalled, but several have moved around the Resistance-Nin and are still pursing us!" Daichi called out as he monitored the situation with his _Byakugan_. "They're splitting up to check the other wagons, but it won't take long to catch up, and two of them are heading our way!"

"Towa, come with me. Daichi, you're in charge. Keep moving towards The Wall!" Kage ordered briskly.

The older ANBU left with Towa following behind him as Daichi and Sasuke urged the wagon onwards as fast as they could.

* * *

><p>In the first fifteen seconds of combat, Naruto and Yagura had exchanged over fifty blows. Naruto had manifested the power of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, but he was being slowly overwhelmed by the Mizukage's offense. The other man was barely as tall as Naruto was, but he wielded his staff expertly, possibly even better than anything Naruto had ever seen Sarutobi do. His crimson miasma clashed on the metal again and again as Naruto whirled around the enemy, hands, feet and tails lashing out at every angle.<p>

Yagura blocked, ducked and side-stepped, countered and moved in, only for Naruto to retreat, pause and advance once more in a never-ending cycle of attack and counterattack. Stray memories began to filter in as the TIDE operatives quickly overwhelmed his shadow clones, and Naruto pressed the attack furiously. Yagura blocked with his staff, a dull metal clang echoing amidst all of the crackling fires and continuing secondary explosions, and then he brought the staff down to bash Naruto in the head. Naruto avoided the blow, but the staff turned and the hook at the front end caught him by the edge of his body armour. He was yanked forward and it was only his reflexes that saved his skull from being caved in as Yagura unleashed a devastating blow with the other end of his staff.

Naruto felt a growl in the back of his throat, but his mind- bombarded with negative emotions and the constant, maddening sound of rattling chains- was relatively clear. He had practised and trained this form with Jiraiya, and he knew the limits of his control and direction. His two tails extended and his lashed out at Yagura, who jumped back. A second later, the tails extended around two burning stumps of wood- far larger and heavier than anything he could have carried by himself- and they hurled the rubble at Yagura with ease.

Yagura blocked one with his staff, but the impact the sent him skidding back on the sand. The other one soared over his head and crashed into a building behind him, shattering brick, wood and glass. He gave Naruto a measuring look as the Jinchuuriki began to hurl more and more stuff at him.

"How unnecessary," the Mizukage scoffed.

He brandished his staff and water formed in front of him, a large, flat circular pool coming at the end of his staff. It formed a reflective mirror of water which hooked on to the end of his staff. Naruto hurled another piece of debris at him, a chunk of blackened concrete, and then another, a piece of burning wood. Yagura stood where he was and something flashed from his mirror, shooting forward and destroying both pieces of debris. Water splashed to the ground where the objects had collided.

The same thing happened for the next half-a-dozen pieces of rubble that Naruto hurled at him. The ANBU Captain felt the chakra rumbling in the back of his throat, expressing his dissatisfaction even as Naruto did his best to analyse the scene. His Jinchuuriki form didn't have many long ranged options, but he had already experienced how the other Jinchuuriki was stronger and faster than he was. He wasn't going to be able to beat Yagura in close-combat, especially while he had a much longer range than him courtesy of his staff.

He also didn't want to get into a ninjutsu match with the Kage of the Village Hidden in Mist while he was standing right next to a body of water.

Naruto felt heat burning at the back of his throat and he focused the chakra of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox. Fire spilled from his lips and mouth as Naruto reared his head back and spat out a single streak of condensed demonic chakra. It surged forward, but was countered by the mirror as something shot out to intercept it.

Naruto grinned, a somewhat manic look, focussed the chakra in his throat and then spout of more and more streaks of fire. One became a dozen became a hundred became a thousand, a constant, unceasing barrage of fire that peppered Yagura without pause. The mirror shimmered as it countered each streak with a watery reflection, and fire and water met in a spectacular hiss of boiling water and scalding air. A steamy haze began to rise and the humidity went up, obscuring the distance between the two Jinchuuriki even as Naruto continued to spray fiery streaks of dense chakra at Yagura.

Then, as the steam rose and hid all from view, it abruptly stopped. Yagura paused for a moment, waiting, and then walked calmly out of the steam. His elite ANBU joined him, kneeling down in a semi-circle around him.

"Go and get him," he ordered.

"Yes, Mizukage-sama!" they intoned and disappeared in a flicker of movement.

Naruto was panting as he fed the chakra of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox into his limbs, pushing them past their limits as he sprinted past the burning wreckage of the outpost and out towards the desolate forests with their twisted, dead trees. He was heading in the opposite direction of the wall, further away from his team to give them as much time to escape as possible. His mind raced as he bounded past rocks and fallen logs.

He would keep them occupied for five more minutes, and then he was going to turn and flee right into the Land of Fire. His identity would have undoubtedly been compromised and Yagura would connect the dots. What happened afterwards would be something to worry about _after _his escape.

He turned to gaze behind him, crimson eyes narrowed as he spotted the pursuit of the TIDE operatives. He spat out more fire and it licked against the dead bark and branches of the forest around him, and within seconds a wildfire burned uncontrollably all around him. Two black figures darted past the flames to approach him, but Naruto turned and used his two tails to push him forwards, avoiding their tightly-compressed water bullets. They smacked on the ground, leaving visible dents. A second later, a dome of water rose above and around Naruto, trying to entrap him, but he broke free with little effort. He gathered his chakra and roared, a loud, bestial sound, and the very force of his voice pushed everything within a five metre radius away from him.

Smoke tickled his sensitive nose, but the rest of Naruto's body was burning and it mattered little to him. He approached the nearest TIDE operative and swiped his hand, ready to take off his head. The man was faster, or he had great reflexes, because he dodged the swipe and delivered a devastating kick to Naruto's stomach. Naruto gasped, eyes bulging, but recovered almost instantly and roared at the man. The force of his voice pushed him back and he went tumbling and skidding over the ground, disappearing into the wildfires that surrounded him.

The chains rattled noisily in his ears, and Naruto growled in annoyance. Then, a second later, the second TIDE operative darted towards him. Glowing yellow chakra lit up her fingertips and something had been written on his hand. Naruto jumped up and avoided the palm thrust, using his tail on a nearby tree to swing away. He saw the woman miss, her palm striking a rock, and glowing yellow _fuinjutsu_ wrapped around the rock like chains.

Suddenly, darkness blotted out the forest. Naruto looked up and saw a huge wave of water rising up to block out the sun. It was an immense tidal wave as tall as the Hokage's Tower, and it came crashing down with the force of a thousand explosive tags. The sound of roaring water blocked out anything else as it swept aside burning trees, rocks, logs and anything unfortunate to be in its path. Naruto barely had a chance to cross his arms over his chest before the water was upon him, striking him harder than any punch, pushing him off his feet and pulling him along the current. The crimson miasma surrounding him hissed and spluttered as the water boiled as it came into contact with it, but there was more to come.

The young Jinchuuriki was pushed along the tidal wave, his back crashing into whatever was in his path. His lungs burned with the need for air as he struggled against the power of the water technique for a good minute, before he manage to attach the rebreather to his face and took in a grateful gasp of air. The water was freezing and it surrounded him, but it was slowly receding as the chakra that fuelled it began to dissipate. The water level fell until it was all gone, leaving Naruto to stand on top of a soggy, muddy wasteland with nothing except the piles of mangled remains of trees.

Yagura approached him, looking faintly annoyed. He opened his mouth to speak, but Naruto wasn't giving him a chance. The chakra around him bubbled and hissed, and with a flash of movement, Naruto was lunging at the man again. He bowled over the three TIDE operatives close to him, and let out a giant billowing cloud of demonic-chakra empowered fire. Yagura swiped at it with his staff, the hook at the end glowing as it ripped the fire apart like it was a piece of paper.

"My turn, now," Yagura intoned.

A hazy, azure chakra bubbled up around him, and a horrible, sickly sensation settled down upon the area. Many of the TIDE operatives stepped back or retreated to a safe distance as their leader brought forward a cloak of chakra similar to Naruto's. Yagura's was of a different hue, but a single bubbling tail swished behind him. Naruto darted back, but then Yagura was dashing forward and he struck Naruto once in the stomach.

Something let out a cracking noise and suddenly there was a dull grey substance crawling all over him. The smell of salt and seawater filled his nostrils as the growth clutched to him, writhing and rolling down to his legs and up to his arms until his movements were impaired. Naruto tried to retreat but found it difficult, even with the chakra miasma around him. He was breathing harshly as he tried to break free from the bizarre technique.

"Konoha's Jinchuuriki, you are now my prisoner," Yagura. The chakra surrounding him bubbled away ominously, and he didn't even look winded despite a series of burns on the edge of his green cloak.

Naruto let go of the chakra of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox and immediately sagged against his restraints as a sudden wave of exhaustion and fatigue shook him. He had pushed his body past their natural limits, and now the aftereffects were coming through.

Still, despite his bindings, Yagura had done exactly what he wanted him to. Naruto closed his eyes and went limp, giving off an impression of misery and defeat to the enemy. At the same time, he reached deep within himself, close to the seal of the Demon Fox, but past it. Instead, he reached into the deep, dark pit that existed within his mind. The gluttonous chain, having snacked on the chakra of the Demon Fox, leapt eagerly to his command.

With a sudden inhale of breath, Naruto opened his eyes and chains shot out from his body, bursting from his _tenketsu_. They were a physical manifestation of the darkest parts of his psyche, and their emergence mangled his flesh and sent blood dripping to the ground. The chains were rusty, and corroded, several of the links looking seemingly fragile and broken. They let out a terrible clanking noise that resounded in the skulls of everybody around them, almost like they were letting out a roar of their own, and then they leapt eagerly towards Yagura.

The Fourth Mizukage was struck before he could react, the chains binding around him eagerly. They coiled and writhed against him like snakes as he stood a staggered step back. Less than a second later, five TIDE operatives lunged at Naruto with the intent to kill. But Yagura had either lost his grasp on the binding technique or it had been weakened with the emergence of the chains, because Naruto broke free from his bindings and managed to avoid a fatal blow. One sword scraped against his arm while another clipped the side of his armour, scraping against the ceramic plates inside. As he rolled away, his hands formed in a single hand-seal.

_Detonate!_

A series of explosive tags, dropped as Naruto had charged at Yagura, exploded in a wave of concussive force. The ground rocked as the Grade-1 tags tore through the dirt. One of the TIDE operatives was enveloped and disappeared, standing directly over a tag. Another two members went down as they were bombarded by a rain of debris sharper than and as deadly as a hail of kunai. Yagura was thrown off his feet, still struggling against the chains, while Naruto used the momentum of the explosion to roll away. Triumph flared in his mind at his successful ploy as he brought his hands together for another technique.

_Arise, Titan!_

The ground shuddered and rumbled again as a mountain of rock and fire tore its way free from the earth. Two large hands emerged first, covered in thick, oozing tar with veins of fire. Then came the upper chest, reinforced with slabs of thick granite that dripped with molten rock. Finally, a head emerged, a human skull made of stone with a leering, frozen smile of razor sharp teeth and two eyes sockets filled with flame. Its legs were submerged in the earth and it remained immobile, but it loomed up into the sky as large as a Class-4 summon, higher than most buildings. It blotted out the sun similar to how Yagura's water technique had done so.

Naruto stood on the head of it, and with a furious roar, the construct raised a hand and brought it down. The earth shuddered once more from the impact of the blow and a giant plume of dust and dirt shot up into the air as the blow left a crater bigger than most houses in the scorched dirt. The remains of one of the TIDE operatives would be somewhere down there, mangled and splattered beyond recognition.

Yagura had recovered, avoiding the blow by jumping back, and he was wrenching the chains away from his body. Many remnants clung to his body like slugs to a wall, but he ignored them as he glared up at Naruto. Whatever demonic chakra he had been using was gone, and Naruto was sure that it wouldn't be returning, especially with those chain fragments on him. Yagura looked furious now, and there was no more talk as he brought his hands together. Naruto brought the Titan's arm back up to deliver another devastating blow at the Mizukage.

As the house-size fist came down, Yagura brandished his hands together and a column of spiralling water exploded forward to meet it. The sheer power of the technique sent the Titan staggering back and water turned to steam as it met the fiery hand. But, the water technique was strong and the granite fingers began to crack as the fires were quenched. Naruto kept the fist up blocking the technique as he made a series of hand-seals. He layered his chakra three times and winced as an aching burn flashed over his tired body.

_Earth Release: __Rising Stone Spears!_

_Earth Release: Rising Stone Spears!_

_Earth Release: Seismic Upheaval!_

Spears of rock burst out of the ground around Yagura, intent on spearing him, and the Mizukage aborted his technique. He batted four of them away with his staff and retreated as the spikes continued to emerge from the ground, shooting out as fast as a thrust of the spear. There were dozens of them, hundreds even. At the same time, several parts of the desolate, battered ground burst apart like more explosive tags were going off, shooting debris and tiny bits of dirt and stone all around them. Yagura shielded his face with his cloak as he leapt back, gaining some distance on Naruto and his Titan Summon, and when he landed his hands were twisted in the _Ox-Seal_.

Giant geysers of water exploded all around Naruto, giant twisting columns of water on all sides. Naruto gritted his teeth as the water began to crash down upon him- four giant waves from every direction coming together to meet him in the center.

_Earth Release: Underground Excavation_!

His feet sank into the Earth Titan and he dove down up to his knee, anchoring himself in the construct even as he adjusted his rebreather. The water crashed down on the Titan with tremendous force and the mighty summon staggered on spot. Naruto made several hand-seals again and layered his chakra twice, ignoring the agony that spread through his taxed body.

_Wind Release: Great Wind Breakthrough!_

_Wind Release: Great Wind Breakthrough!_

He brandished each of his palms out in different directions just as the churning, raging water came down crashing on the Titan's head. Huge gusts of wind blew out, meeting the water and holding it back for an instant, a barrier of wind against the force of a tsunami. Then the wind technique began to fail as water seeped through, dripping down on Naruto and the Titan's skull. But it had done its job, countering much of the force of the water technique, and when the water came crashing down on Naruto it was with the force of similar to pouring a bucket on his head and not a force that would crush him flat against the rock.

The water had enveloped the entire Titan, and Naruto could barely see through it. He was surrounded by it, the freezing liquid pressing against him warmed only by the steam that boiled as it struck the fiery lava of the Titan. He could see, however, that it was not receding, and it spiraled around in a never-ending sphere of motion. He looked down, breathing deeply through the rebreather.

Yagura stood at the edge of the giant dome of water, one hand placed within it. The Mizukage stared up at him and a pulse of his chakra shot through the water. Suddenly, the pressure surrounding him increased and Naruto grimaced. He tried to move his arms, but they were slow and sluggish as the pressure continued to increase and increase. His armour creaked and he could feel the strain in his bones. Finally, he brought his hands together in the _ram seal_ and countered the pressure with his own chakra.

Almost immediately, the pressure around him subdued as Naruto lashed out with his own raw power, forming a sphere around him to keep the crushing weight off of him. He gritted his teeth as he felt the pressure beginning to return- Yagura intensifying his efforts. Below him, the Titan creaked and groaned. Large cracks and splits appeared in its carapace, the pressure tearing through the granite armour. The cracks were relatively shallow, but they were widening and beginning to get worse. Naruto tried to extend his chakra down on his construct, but the pressure surrounding him became intense and he relented, focusing on protecting only himself.

The blond Jinchuuriki glanced down at Yagura, hoping to see some kind of strain. Instead, Yagura had placed his other hand in the water and was focusing on something. To Naruto's disbelief, water rippled around each of his fingertips and five sharks of water formed. They swished their tails as they began to swim towards Naruto, intent on devouring him and tearing him to shreds. Naruto, his hand clasped in a _ram-seal_, desperately tried to think of a solution to Yagura's latest attack. His mind racing, he began lowering himself deeper and deeper into the head of the Titan. It was hard keeping the pressure from instantly killing him while trying to deepen the _Underground Excavation _technique.

The sharks swam closer and closer, darting through the water at incredible speeds as Naruto sank deeper and deeper into the Titan's head. Just as his head was submerging, one of the sharks was close enough to lunge at him. The last thing he saw before his head dipped beneath the surface of the rock was the shark's mouth mere centimeters away from his head. Then everything was dark and something thudded heavily above him. The crushing pressure around him was gone, shielded by the thick granite of the Titan, but it was continuing to weaken and groan as the pressure began to tear it apart.

Naruto kept his hands in the _ram-seal_, but refocused his chakra throughout the Titan. He used the _Underground Excavation _technique to keep moving through it even as he began to direct the Titan to move. The stone and rock around him was shattering and shuddering as he climbed upwards, travelling through the arm that was slowly but surely fighting against the pressure and rising up through the moving arm. Finally, he felt the Titan push through the thick, unyielding water and he burst out from the rock on the hand of the Titan, held above its head and over the dome of spiraling water.

Water dripped from his head as he looked down on the massive spiraling dome of water below him, his eyes wide. It was a devastatingly powerful technique, one that could end entire platoons of shinobi!

The water below him rippled, and then suddenly something was lunging at him! Naruto stepped back reflexively as a water shark burst out of the water, its jaws snapping towards him, and it was only the fact that he slipped on the rock that saved his life. Naruto fell from the fingers and back towards the dome of water as the shark soared over him, but he flipped in midair and desperately channeled chakra to his feet. When he landed on the dome of water, he managed to keep himself on top even as he began sliding down the edge and towards the ground.

Sharks leapt out of the water, snapping jaws and gnashing teeth trying to end his life, but Naruto avoided them with a mixture of water walking and just falling, his chakra struggling to stick to Yagura's water. He fell towards the ground, righted himself and managed to stick to the edge of the gigantic dome of water before slipping once more. The water beneath his feet, however, was beginning to recede.

No, it was moving inwards, forced in by Yagura's technique and Naruto abruptly lost his footing and fell helplessly to the round. He spun in the air, whipping around just as the water shattered his Titan's armour. A tremendous boom roared through the air- so loud that Naruto's hearing temporarily left him. A high-pitched whine filled his head as the Titan exploded in a shower of water and rock, the water dome destabilizing and exploding outwards with tremendous force. The force of the pressure and the explosion sent the rocky debris and water flying for kilometer. Something flashed at him and Naruto grunted as a piece of rock struck him in the chest. He was sent flipping wildly through the air as the force of the explosion pushed him backwards to a thirty-story fall with nowhere but the cratered, muddied and scorched ground to land.

He still couldn't hear anything as he hurtled toward the ground.

His body hurt all over. His chakra was exhausted. Blood dripped from his ears and nose.

Naruto desperately reached within him, seeking the power of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, seeking _something_ that could save him. Rattling chains filled his mind, the only thing he could hear as they eagerly latched onto him, and he struggled against their grip as he sought out the Demon Fox. A single tendril of crimson power lanced through him and Naruto took it eagerly, using it to envelope himself in a crimson miasma of power just as he struck the ground with enough force to shatter boulders.

The chakra shroud bore the brunt of the impact, and it was the only thing that saved his life. He went sliding and rolling along the ground. His armour cracked, one of his arms snapped the wrong way and his mask shattered, falling off his face as he rolled along the ground, hitting debris, rocks and anything else in his way. A particularly strong blow to the head left him dizzy but his hearing returned, continuing to skid and tumble along until he finally came to a stop.

He lay on his back, staring up at the sky, his entire body aching and his mind just stunned. Water fell down on his face, dripping softly as the last of the water dome technique fell from the sky. It was almost like rain, and the sun beamed down on him from, thawing a bit of the freezing sensation that had surrounded him. Naruto let out a pained, gurgling rattle and rolled over. He was panting, each breath coming out in a labored wheeze, his eyes struggling to focus, and it hurt to move.

Nonetheless, he stood up, exhausted, wet and wounded, and gingerly cradled his arm as he turned, looking for Yagura.

The Fourth Mizukage was coming, walking with a limp as blood trickled down his temple. Clearly, he hadn't been expecting the explosive reaction from the Titan either, but he seemed to be in better shape than Naruto. He held the remnants of his staff, a single piece of broken steel, and one of his eyes was closed over, bruised and bloody. His face was set in stone, and there was a pressure in the air that Naruto just couldn't match.

But then he didn't need to. Yagura paused in his advance, his eyes widening with shock as a shadow loomed behind Naruto. The ANBU turned his head to see Terumi Mei standing behind him. Her wavy crimson hair swayed behind her as she placed a warm hand on Naruto's shoulder, smiling gently at him.

"Thank you, Naruto," she told him quietly. "You did well."

A man with an eye-patch stood behind her. He gave Naruto a considering look but kept his attention on Yagura, who had swiveled around to check around him. He was surrounded. A woman wielding two swords crackling with lightning stood with a large, bare chested man holding a gigantic sword over his shoulder. A boy no older than eighteen dressed in loose-flowing robes puffed on a pipe that was letting out bubbles, standing next to somebody wearing the mask of a Hunter-Nin. Chukichi, one of the Resistance members Naruto had met earlier, stood beyond them with several others, each man and women looking grim.

Finally, Mei stood in front of Naruto, radiating a deadly calm. There was no teasing smile on her face, no jokes, and after reassuring Naruto she had stepped forward.

"Yagura!" her voice boomed out over the cratered, devastated battlefield. "You're tired, injured and outnumbered. Surrender, or we will put you down."

Yagura looked annoyed. "Terumi Mei," he acknowledged stiffly. "What are you doing here?"

Mei smiled chillingly. "I'm here to end your reign as Mizukage," she replied. "This is the day of revolution, Yagura. Our forces are on the homelands overthrowing your forces as we speak. Loyal shinobi are subduing your forces and retaking control of our country. Today, Yagura, we announce that we are _free_!"

Yagura stared at her. "Bait," he said quietly. He smiled a tad ruefully. "Konoha was bait."

"I knew you wouldn't let it go unanswered," Mei answered. She folded her arms over her flak-vest. "You're far away from your forces, Yagura, and your empire is crumbling. Will you submit?"

"Don't you dare trample on my _dream_!" Yagura snarled. He threw away the broken end of his staff, his eyes wild. "I will end you today, woman, and crush your pathetic rebellion!"

Mei didn't look back at Naruto, but her next words were directed towards him. "It's time to leave, Uzumaki Naruto," she told him gently. "This is Kiri business, and you've done enough to help." She slapped her hands together as Yagura did the same, and the Resistance forces around him tensed and readied themselves for battle. "Leave the rest to us!"

Naruto, breathing deeply and with a wheeze, took a single last look at the scene. Despite his strength, Yagura was clearly not at his best, and Mei herself had been able to match him before. With the others, there was little chance that the tyrannical man was going to get away.

He was standing on the graveyard of the Fourth Mizukage.

He turned and didn't look back as he fled from the scene, even when the sound of battle began to rage behind him.


	51. Operation HURRICANE: Finale

**A/N: This has been a long time coming. No excuses, I just couldn't be bothered writing. I've had a couple of really nice reviews lately and they've kind of made me feel guilty, so here I am.**

**I recall from the Sky Ninja movie that Sasuke could see chakra forming, hence he was able to use **_**Chidori Nagashi**_** to pierce the tenketsu of Evil!Villian #3 from where the chakra was emanating from, or some shit like that. If I got it wrong, let me know.**

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><p><strong>Operation HURRICANE: Part VIII<strong>

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><p>Sasuke was panting, exhausted yet still moving as he darted forward. His kunai flashed as he batted away a volley of shuriken that would have pelted a hobbling refugee in the back. Then, his feet set firmly in the ground, he threw his kunai forward. An explosive tag sizzled at the end and when the blade struck the ground, it exploded in a giant plume of smoke and dirt. The explosion, while relatively weak, obscured the view of the advancing TIDE agents.<p>

There weren't many of Bravo Team left now. Not that there had been fatalities- at least, Sasuke hadn't seen any- but as the cart had approached the Land of Fire, Daichi had detected numerous enemy-nin approaching their position at top speed. The Resistance-Nin had stayed back, buying as much time as they could for the ANBU to speed the cart off to safety. It was a suicide mission in the best case. No amount of mist and smoke and evasion techniques would be able to fend off so many competent opponents.

For the most part, the Resistance-Nin had been ignored. A small detachment from the TIDE operatives had engaged them, but the rest had simply sped past, doggedly pursing the rest of the team. Kage and Towa had moved to flank them, but a TIDE operative had managed to release a powerful water technique that had smashed the carts into little pieces and sent them tumbling away. Most of the refugees hidden in the barrels had awoken, disorientated, smelly and scared. Some would never wake, their bodies bent and broken.

Then it had become a running game. Sasuke and Daichi had been left to furiously defend over sixty unarmed civilians against a squad of at least five TIDE operatives. They ran down the rocky path towards the Land of Fire as best they could as Sasuke and Daichi stayed back, distracting the Kiri-Nin as best they could.

They weren't always successful.

A series of bullets of water spat forward through the smoke, most of them flying aimlessly through the air. One smacked on the trunk of a white, dead tree and splintered it. Another smashed the ground beside Sasuke. A third whizzed past and struck a long-haired woman in the back. She arched, the force propelling her forward, and she went twisting and tumbling along the ground in a heap of limbs. She did not get up again.

Sasuke drew out a pair of kunai and threw them to either side of the road. His _sharingan_ spun as he wove through some hand-seals as quick as he could.

_Barrier Technique: Two-Prong Seal!_

A glowing wall of blue light sprung forward from the two kunai, rising up and forming a barrier that covered the road. More water bullets shot forward, and several of them struck the barrier. It wobbled, hissing and spluttering, but held. A flash of black and white leapt from the smoke and jumped over the barrier, moving almost too fast to be seen.

Almost.

Sasuke saw it all through his_ sharingan_ as the TIDE operative cleared the barrier wall.

_The man's centre of gravity was shifted in his left leg, which he would land on - Muscles were coiling, ready to dart forward as soon as he hit the ground – chakra poured from the hidden tenketsu from his wrist – a sword was in his hand, glistening water chakra flowing around it – a swing that would be extended by the water and slice into him._

Sasuke saw it all and more, and his hands were blurring before the enemy had even touched the ground.

_Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!_

A volley of small fireballs shot out, arcing in randomly different directions but all converging on the same point. As the TIDE operative landed, they looked as if to hit him, but his sword flashed and water hissed and spluttered as the fire was dispersed. The TIDE operative suddenly jumped backwards, moving closer towards the barrier, as the hidden shuriken within the flames were _not_ dispersed. They pelted the ground where he had been standing.

_Now!_

Sasuke felt a surge of triumph overcome his exhaustion as he raised his left hand and pulled. The wire attached to the two kunai supporting the barrier technique tugged on the kunai and suddenly the barrier exploded in a flash of light and the sound of breaking glass. The operative grunted as the explosion forced him forwards, sending him tumbling. Large arcs of broken blue light gouged into his back, cutting through the armour and sending blood dripping to the ground.

At the same time, Sasuke rushed forward with all of his speed, his right hand raised. Lightning crackled around it, a high-pitched chirping noise filling the air as he took advantage of the enemy's sudden vulnerability. The TIDE operative heard the noise and desperately tried to regain his footing even as he swung his blade, but Sasuke avoided it with ease, crimson flashing behind his mask, and thrust forward with his hand.

The lighting technique pierced through armour like a hot knife through butter, and Sasuke pushed against the older, larger man as his arm went elbow-deep into the chest cavity, sparks of lightning crackling around him. There was a sudden hitch of breath and then the TIDE operative slumped forward, his heart pierced. Sasuke pushed back against the sudden weight and jumped away, leaving the TIDE operative to fall limply to the ground.

Sasuke was panting. His chakra was low, and he had already popped two soldier pills, a decision he would happily regret tomorrow (if he lived that long). Still, nothing could stop the feeling of triumph that surged through him as he defeated a stronger, older shinobi in combat.

Now, only four left.

That was the last victory Sasuke had for a while. They continued to flee towards the Land of Fire, and were only a kilometer or so out from the border, but the TIDE operatives were horribly persistent. It was only the combined power of both the _byakugan _and _sharingan_ of Daichi and Sasuke that kept them from being overrun immediately.

Sasuke was able to fend off any direct attack with a combination of explosive tags, barriers and precision-based attacks that disrupted any attempt to overwhelm the two Leaf-Nin with pure numbers. Daichi had contributed also, and one of the Kiri-Nin's arms flopped uselessly at her side whilst another man limped behind the rest, the chakra circulatory in his leg damaged.

Daichi used his bloodline to keep track of the enemy's movements. After a forward assault had left two of their number injured, one TIDE operative had tried to flank them. A series of explosive tags had been waiting for him and the last of Sasuke's explosive tags had detonated, leaving smoke rising into the air and a heavily-wounded TIDE agent out of the fight.

Still, Sasuke and Daichi were tiring and more and more attacks were slipping through. A barrage of kunai struck a fleeing man in the back. A dragon of water exploded against one of Sasuke's hastily crafted barriers, protecting most of the refugees but washing away a woman holding a child. Sasuke didn't know if they were okay as he was pushed back by another frontal assault.

Slowly, but surely, they were being whittled away.

Then a bell rang, loud clanging noises resonating in the air. A whistle blew, then another, and another. A siren blared through the air. In front of them, no more than two hundred meters away, was the border. They hadn't quite reached The Wall yet, but it was a small outpost of Leaf-Nin guarding the one road that led inwards. Leaf-Nin were yelling, several of them darting around the barricades. The gate swung open as the first of the haggard, exhausted and wounded refugees began to flood in.

They had made it. Sasuke felt a renewed sense of vigour and determination and he threw his all into protecting the rest of the civilians as they slowly but surely made their way to safety. For the first time, Sasuke advanced on the enemy, throwing out the last of his shuriken in an attempt to buy time. Every second counted here.

"Incoming!" Daichi screamed from the other side of the road.

Sasuke felt a flash of panic and then his world disappeared in a searing blaze of heat and fire. An explosion rocked the road around him, sending him hurtling off of his feet and thumping on the ground. He bounced once, and then again, before he managed to regain his footing. Numerous refugees burned around him, and the dead trees and grass around him was on fire. He couldn't see Daichi in all of the smoke, his head was spinning and he felt a sharp pain in his ribs.

Everything hurt.

He swallowed, trying to see the threat, and instinctively his eyes shot up as another hurtling ball of fire arced down towards them.

_Barrier Technique: 5-folded Two-Prong Seal!_

Every barrier kunai that Sasuke possessed hurtled forward as he desperately tried to cover the rest of the road. He clasped his hands in the _Ram_ seal and channelled his chakra. The seal tags at the end of the kunai glew and a glowing blue dome began to rise around them. Then the fiery ball, the size of a boulder, fell to the earth and the world turned to fire.

Sasuke let out a choked scream as his barrier was overloaded, and his _tenketsu_ burned in agony from the feedback of the hastily-erected barrier. Glowing shards of blue light fell to the ground like a broken mirror, only partially successful in blocking the powerful technique, and fire rained down upon them. The Uchiha was thrown to the ground and backwards, hitting the body of an already-dead refugee, and without shame the boy pulled the body on top of him.

Fire raced around him, suffocating and burning and smelling of smoke and charred flesh. It was a firestorm that lasted for seconds at most, but it was the longest period of Sasuke's life. He gagged behind his mask as the body on top of him sizzled and cooked. The smell made him vomit and he turned his head, coughing and spluttering as the vomit dripped from the bottom of his mask.

His _sharingan_ spun, committing the awful scene into an eternal memory.

The fire receded and Sasuke desperately threw the man on top of him off and rolled away. It saved his life as a second later, a sword flashed down to where he had been lying and stabbed into the ground. Choking on spit and vomit, part of his ANBU robe on fire and his entire body wrecked with pain and exhaustion, Sasuke nonetheless reacted admirably. He bottled it all away in an instant and rolled again as the TIDE operative- the woman with a crippled arm- lunged at him again.

He darted up, kicking up a kunai from the ground, and spun around to deflect the next blow. The force of it made his knees weak and his arms rattle. Even one-handed, the woman still had strength in her swing. Around him, he could see more TIDE operatives arriving, but so were more of Team Sigma. Kage and Towa had returned, and Sasuke was certain he had seen Komachi in between the flames. But the smoke rolled in, covering everything around him from view, and his enemy moved in for the kill.

Sword and kunai met with the clang of metal on metal in a furious dance. Sasuke survived the first three seconds against an obviously superior sword-user for two reasons. Firstly, she was wounded, her limp, useless arm holding her back those precious few seconds. Secondly, Sasuke's _sharingan _worked overtime as he frantically read every swing and slash of her sword, allowing him to move before she did. He knew where she was coming, and wounded or not, he was able to move faster to beat her there, his kunai parrying and deflecting the sword every time.

Still, the ferocity of her attacks forced him backwards, closer towards the flames until he could feel them on his back. Then, in a move of desperation, he threw the kunai right at the TIDE agent and when she halted to bat it away, he dove backwards into the flames.

It took her a few seconds to follow. The moment she burst through the flames, she had to halt and raise her sword as a giant fuma-shuriken lanced out at her. It came in low towards her legs, and she jumped over it, clearing it and the smouldering corpse below her. The Uchiha stood there, arms still outstretched in a throwing motion, and in the smoke and the fire he was cut down where he stood- and promptly disappeared in a shimmer and a puff of smoke.

A basic clone technique.

Sasuke, hidden as the corpse that the TIDE agent had just jumped over, caught the fuma shuriken he had thrown and brought back with the wires on his fingers. He threw it again at his enemy's unsuspecting back. The woman moved quickly, her body twisting and contorting in some fairly impressive gymnastics as she rolled in the air with a leg raised to avoid the weapon.

It left her fully open for Sasuke's trap. The wire on his finger tugged, and the fuma shuriken exploded in a rain of scrap and debris. Large pieces of twisted, cracked metal slammed into his opponent. One jagged piece of metal, a remnant of one of the blades, scored a lucky slash against the TIDE agent's heel, and when she landed on her feet her leg instantly buckled and collapsed.

Sasuke was already moving. He barely had enough chakra to form it, but a _Chidori_ blazed in his hands as he darted forward. The woman swung, and Sasuke met her swing with the lightning technique. Metal groaned and screeched as it was pierced, and it cracked and shattered. The _Chidori_ was unrelenting as he broke through the sword, the woman's mask, and through one side of the skull and out the other.

She collapsed, as did Sasuke a second later.

The fight was almost gone from him. All he could do was watch as the smoke began to clear. Team Sigma battled the last of the TIDE agents all around him. At some point, Komachi, Yuuka and Rat had appeared, reinforcing the line against the rest of the TIDE operatives, although Naruto didn't appear to have arrived. Metal clashed on metal and figures blurred and darted, meeting each other in a flurry of punches, kicks and stabs. A fiery streak lashed out against a wall of earth, scorching mud and rock, while a wave of water smashed against the ground, forcing two members of Team Sigma to jump.

Sasuke attempted to stagger to his feet. His lungs were burning and there was seriously something wrong with his ribs as he heard them shift and crack with every little movement. He must have caught somebody's attention because suddenly a TIDE operative was standing before him. The man was at least six-foot five, with a burly from hidden underneath his armour. His mask was bloodied and cracked, his cloak covered in dirt and soot. Nonetheless, he raised a spiked hammer the size of Sasuke with a single hand and prepared to bring it down on him.

Sasuke couldn't have managed to raise an arm to block it, let alone something as taxing as the replacement technique. All he could do was stare at the hammer as it began to arc down at him. In that moment, Sasuke felt a sudden flash of terror.

_Who was going to kill Itachi if he died?_

Crimson eyes spun in his memory. His clan, slaughtered and dead. Itachi, standing next to the bloodied corpses of their mother and father. All those years of training, of pursing justice and vengeance- was it all for nothing?

In his final moments, Sasuke considered that carefully. The mission. The team. The high-level shinobi who had stared at him with unflinching blue eyes and told him that _yes, Konoha hadn't forgotten about the Uchiha Clan and Sasuke wasn't the only one left who sought vengeance_.

Maybe he could leave it to Naruto, then.

In the split-second that this had crossed his mind, the TIDE operative had swung his hammer down-but then there was a flash of crimson light and the huge man suddenly disappeared from view. Sasuke blinked, and then shuddered as a terrible miasma of power and malice settled down on the battlefield. Something roared, a terrible, beastly roar that sent terror into Sasuke's very soul, but as he looked up all he could see was Naruto crouched over the broken body of the TIDE Operative who had just been about to kill him.

Clad in crimson chakra, with two tails swishing behind him, the Jinchuuriki stood up and let his fearsome chakra wash all around him. Despite the horrible feeling of it, Sasuke embraced the feeling with a weary smile.

They were safe.

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><p>With the appearance of a Jinchuuriki, the rest of the TIDE operatives didn't hang around for much longer. Whoever was in command must have decided that Naruto's presence there didn't bode well for the Fourth Mizukage, because a few moments later the remaining agents withdrew from the battlefield. Naruto saw them racing back towards where the Fourth Mizukage had last been seen, and grimly thought that they wouldn't like what they would find.<p>

Yagura hadn't been in great condition when Naruto had left, and he had been surrounded by several powerful, elite shinobi. Mei had played him beautifully, and Naruto didn't think she would have stepped in at that particular point if she thought she was going to have much trouble putting down the Fourth Mizukage for good.

It wasn't one of Naruto's problems, anyway. He had more pressing concerns to worry about. Sasuke and Daichi had taken a beating in their defence, with the former unconscious with severe internal injuries and the latter having almost had a leg chopped off. It was only the timely intervention of the medic-nin posted at The Wall that stopped Naruto from losing two members of his team.

Even thinking about it sent a cold, shuddering sensation down his spine.

Over half of the refugees had survived the extraction, including the primary target. The rest hadn't been so lucky. Masaso, the nephew of the Lord of the Land of Lightning, tended to his friends in between sending out missives to his Uncle and fellow nobles. Naruto hadn't really had a chance to talk to the man since the start of the mission, but when the two had come face to face Masaso had bowed deeply- far more deeply than any noble should ever bow to a shinobi- before hurrying off to the death bed of one of his friends.

Kage accompanied him while the rest of his squad recuperated at The Wall as Naruto was escorted back to Konoha as quickly as possible. The Third Hokage had heard about a very public battle between Leaf-Nin and Kiri-Nin and had summoned him immediately. Naruto was sore and tired himself, but between the forced regeneration the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox offered and the immense vitality of the Uzumaki Clan, he had come out of the battle with the Fourth Mizukage in relatively good shape.

Naruto was ushered into Konoha during the middle of the day and promptly escorted to one of the secure debriefing rooms deep within the Department of Intelligence. Nara Shikaku stood to one side, leaning against the wall and folding his arm. His posture was lazy and he looked like he was about to fall asleep at any moment, but there was something on his face that showed that he was taking this far more seriously than it appeared.

Sarutobi Hiruzen sat on one side of the table, smoking his pipe and listening to Naruto attentively as the young, blond ANBU dutifully recalled the events of the mission. Every so often, Shikaku would stop him and ask a series of questions. Some of them were quite relevant- the layout of the weapons factory, the disposition that the villagers had held towards the regime, the exact details of each Resistance member down to each individual mole. Others didn't seem quite as relevant. Nara Shikaku had nodded wisely as everything had suddenly made sense after Naruto had described the colour and texture of Masaso's house and chosen the nearest example from a palette of paint.

He didn't quite get it, but he knew men like Nara Shikaku looked at information and patterns differently than he did. Every small fact, from the smell and colour of the house, built a picture for the man.

The exact shade of cream with the silky finish that was coarse to the touch came from a specific company owned by a minor noble family within the Land of Lightning, and was discontinued over five years ago. For Shikaku, the paint appearing in the Land of Water didn't make sense unless there was a connection between Masaso and the aforementioned company. Shikaku also knew of two smuggling operations being conducted within the Land of Water, and the paint had to have come from one of them. Given that one of the smuggling rings was also connected to a series of minor crime families within the Land of Fire, the small detail of the colour of Masaso's walls had suddenly revealed a deeper connection to a variety of different issues.

Naruto still didn't get most of it, but he didn't have to. All he had to do was continue his debrief, and so he did. The battle between the Naruto and Yagura caused the Third Hokage to shift in his seat, and Mei's sudden appearance had Shikaku stroking his chin in thought.

"After arriving at the edge of the outpost, I saw that the rest of my team were engaged in battle. One of my teammates, Uchiha Sasuke, was in imminent danger. I utilised the chakra of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox to close the distance and save him. Moments later, the rest of the TIDE operatives retreated. Most of them fell back in the direction where Yagura and I had been fighting," Naruto concluded, feeling drained.

He took a drink of water from the glass in front of him and settled in his seat as Sarutobi and Shikaku conversed quietly with each other. It went on for a couple of minutes, and then Shikaku left the room, leaving Naruto and Sarutobi alone.

"Although I suspected that this mission would not remain as clandestine as we had hoped, never did I suspect that you would end up fighting the Fourth Mizukage," Sarutobi said. He tapped his pipe against the desk, shaking his head. "What a startling turn of events."

Naruto nodded, feeling uneasy, and although nothing showed on his face Sarutobi's eyes were suddenly pinned on him. Naruto swallowed and voice his unease.

"Hokage-sama, we…I… we got completely played," he let out in a rush. He rubbed the back of his head, a burning feeling of shame welling up within him. "Mei used us and threw us out when she didn't need us anymore."

"Ah." Sarutobi nodded sagely. "Yes, that can happen."

The Hokage didn't sound upset, and Naruto frowned.

"Aren't you…?" He trailed off.

Sarutobi reached into his robe and pulled out a scroll. It had already been opened, but the broken crest of the Land of Water was clear to see.

"Mei used us to her own end," Sarutobi said firmly. "Nonetheless, she has recognised our contribution to her cause. This is a missive that I received just before you arrived." He paused. "It's official. The Fourth Mizukage is dead."

Naruto exhaled noisily. He had assumed that, but hearing it was something else. Yagura had been a monster of an opponent, tougher than anybody Naruto had ever fought before. His water techniques had been monstrous and his staff techniques polished. Even though the odds had been stacked against him, Naruto had half-expected Yagura to come out on top. Naruto had escaped by the skin of his teeth, and even then it had been a close thing.

"Kiri is rebuilding. A large-scale revolt occurred at the same time as your assault on the Fourth Mizukage. There was a lot of damage." The Hokage paused to puff on his pipe. "Nonetheless, the new administration of the Land of Water is extremely grateful for all of our assistance. They were especially impressed with your performance. They are committed to creating stronger ties between the two nations and our villages."

It sounded like standard diplomatic talk to Naruto.

Sarutobi cleared his throat. "As a sign of our deep gratitude to the Land of Fire and the Village Hidden in Leaves, the ruling body of the Land of Water, in conjunction with the interim Mizukage Terumi Mei, bequeath the land known as the 'Bloody Cove' to Konoha. Our jurisdiction and ownership of the land is immediately released, and all former claims by the Land of Water on the mainland voided."

Naruto spluttered. "Did…did they just give us back the Bloody Cove?" he asked in astonishment.

Sarutobi smiled. "They did," he replied.

"How much?" Naruto asked.

"All of it," Sarutobi responded calmly. He folded the scroll and placed it back in his robes. "In a single day, you have fought against a Kage, finished a revolution, and done what two armies could not- reclaimed land held by a foreign power for the last fifty years. Congratulations, Naruto."

Naruto sat back in his chair, stunned.

"Of course, they have undoubtedly given us the land to both keep us busy and placated," Sarutobi continued. He smiled thinly. "Their betrayal of the terms and conditions of the mission, while not a military action taken against us, was a sign of bad faith. They needed to give us something, or we might very well have taken it- and they are in no position to stop us."

That made sense, Naruto thought. He was still pretty pissed off at Mei, and if the Hokage had ordered him to take back the Bloody Cove from the new regime, he would have done it without reservation.

"Furthermore, apart from some infrastructure which they are undoubtedly stripping down, the land itself is quite useless, barren and dead- for now, at least," Sarutobi said. He shook his head a tad ruefully. "They have given us a token victory, land we cannot use any time soon. Whatever morale we could have raised is only dampened by the fact that by giving it to us, they have essentially made the transaction more about 'Kiri's generosity' than 'Konoha's victory'."

"Ah," Naruto said flatly. He couldn't shake the distinct feeling that the woman was still playing him.

Sarutobi could read Naruto's mood. "It's always better to think objectively when situations like this occur," he said. "We could go charging off in a storm of fury and self-righteousness, demanding compensation and reparations from the Land of Water for their trickery and deceit. Of course, our own losses over the past year have also left us in a weakened state to do little more than bluster and threaten, as there are three other Great Villages of much greater concern."

He puffed on his pipe one last time and placed it away.

"Or we can accept the olive branch that Kiri is holding out to us. Sacrifice pride for profit. Contribute to a result where both nations come out ahead. Nonetheless…" Sarutobi trailed off. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply, and when he opened them they looked softer. "I was there when we lost the Bloody Cove. I lost friends trying to keep it, and take it back. If nothing else, you have relieved an old burden off of my shoulders."

He reached over and grabbed one of Naruto's hands.

"Thank you, Naruto," Sarutobi told him sincerely.

Naruto felt something stuck in his throat. An immense feeling of pride and happiness welled up within him, and he struggled to form words. Instead, he just nodded and kept his eyes focussed on the table. Those words of praise were the best thing that he had ever heard.

"You are growing in leaps and bounds," Sarutobi said as he took his hand back. "In a span of two years, you have risen from a B-rank shinobi to the Captain of your own elite Team. You have saved the Village and twice protected the family and interests of the Feudal Lord. Your name can be heard from one side of the Land of Fire to the other. You fought against opponents well beyond you and persevered. You single-handedly fought against a Kage-level opponent no less than twenty-four hours ago. You are growing up exceptionally well."

Okay, perhaps _that _was the best thing he had ever heard.

"I have a long way to go," Naruto said honestly, thinking back to his battles.

"You do," Sarutobi agreed. "Nonetheless, be proud of your achievements, Naruto."

The moment between the two was broken when the door was opened and Shikaku appeared. Sarutobi sighed.

"It's back to work for me," he grumbled. As he stood, he gave Naruto a look. "Take it easy for the next couple of days. I'm going to keep Team Sigma around the Village for a little bit. I believe you have all earned a break."

"Thank you, Hokage-sama," Naruto said.

The sun was setting and the stars were beginning to twinkle in the twilight. At the scene of the battle between the Fourth Mizukage, the Jinchuuriki of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, and several high-level members of the Resistance, something stirred.

The air began to twist and writhe, distorting as it spiralled around a single point of darkness. From that point came a man, his whole body spinning and twisting until he emerged from the darkness and settled into reality. He stepped on cracked and broken earth, his black cloak flapping around him in the cool, sea breeze. An orange mask covered his face, and red clouds adorned his cloak.

Tobi surveyed the ruins of the battlefield around him, noting the residual chakra still lingering in the air. Crimson flashed beneath his orange mask as he turned his head, looking out at sea. Finally, he spoke.

"What the fuck?" he said aloud. He leaned forward, looking at something that only he could see. "Is that…what the hell were you doing here, Uzumaki Naruto? And…" He paused. "No." He shook his head, his voice becoming more of a groan. "No, no, no, no. What… is that… Yagura?"

He paused.

"Oh, _shit_!How the hell did this happen?"

From behind him, a form was appearing from the ground. He was wearing the same cloak as the man, half black and half white. Two Venus-fly-trap extensions covered both sides of his body.

"There was a fight," one side spoke. "**All we could do was watch,**" said the other.

"No shit!" Tobi snapped. He gestured all around him. "I got that, thanks."

"Uzumaki Naruto got into a fight with Yagura.** The red-haired bitch showed up.** Yagura didn't survive.** The fool. He should have ran.**"

"The Three-Tails?" Tobi asked plaintively.

"Gone. **It will take some time to reappear.**"

"I go away for a week and this is what happens?" Tobi gestured around him. He shook his head, sighing despondently. "Maybe I shouldn't have pushed Yagura so hard," he mused.

"You have to admit, watching the Land of Water crumble…**was immensely satisfying.**"

"Oh," Tobi said, and something dark and terrible filled his voice, a deep, vicious satisfaction. "It most certainly was." His fists clenched tightly- and then abruptly relaxed as the tenseness that surrounded him disappeared. "This is going to be so much more work for me, you know- actually, you know what? Fuck it."

He turned around as the air began spiralling around him. A single infinite point of darkness appeared in the air and Tobi began to sink into it, each limb at a time.

"Report back to Headquarters. This is Pain's problem now."


End file.
